1598: Guardrails

9/11 Trauma recall

Billionaire Ackman, Others Pledge They Won't Hire Harvard Students Who Signed Letter Blaming Israel For Hamas Attack

Putin’s fingerprints are all over the Hamas attack | The Hill

EU MEP tells von der Leyen to 'shut up' over pro-Israeli tweet | Al Mayadeen English

Isaac & Ishmael - Can you explain how the Middle East conflict started? | NeverThirsty

As an Israeli (living in the US) it pains me to entertain these notions, but I accept the burden of being a producer.

Bow Tied Freelancer

Hi Adam,

I’m a freelancer in the network news business and recently heard you guys go on and on about Richard Engle’s whereabouts. He’s stationed in Istanbul and has a rooftop setup to do his live shots. In fact, it’s pretty common to report about a story from a random location. This is because belts are tight and there are fewer bodies to put on stories plus organizations don’t want to pay to fly people around until they really need to. Why when they can just put their news actors in a generic location and call it a day?

Getting into Israel is difficult right now. For example unnamed big time anchor had to fly to Aman then travel overland to get in. I don’t personally know Richard but work with people who spent time with him in the Middle East and another one who knew him as a scrub when he was freelancing for ABC News during the Gulf War. They describe him as ambitious but have never mentioned any spook connections.

I’m not a long time listener (Rogan) so I’m not sure how much you’ve talked about this but aside from Fox News, the big three broadcasters hire more and more hire out Ivy and other elite schools. I have a fun game for you, find the reporter you may think is a representing the oppressed doing diversity stories and look at their background (some are from elite families). You'll see schools like Harvard, Columbia School of Journalism, Northwestern, American University etc. They all think the same and talk the same but some have darker skin. It’s like they upload software onto everyone at those places so they come out approaching stories from the same narrow-minded perspective. They used to bring up lower class folks from the affiliates but now it seems they'd rather groom the news actors from their own caste.

This is to say they don't need to take orders from the CIA because they were born to, went to school with or sleep with the people in government and elite companies and institutions (eg reporter fucking investment bankers and producers dating think tank scrubs). And never mind when they need an opinion from the agency they just bring the guys on Scarborough and let them rant un-factchecked. And who's his co-host?

I enjoy your deconstruction and much of it is spot on from where I sit. But I'll add, never attribute malice to what plain old stupidity can explain. These Ivy League guys may have taken a class in decolonization but they don't know shit about history or literature and many aren't even curious.

Your friendly fly on the wall in the M5M

In the morning Adam,

Today I opened up my Snapchat app and a screen popped up stating the following:

“We believe the Camera should be optimized for every Snapchatter who uses it. To do that, Snap uses info about your face, hands, and voice to make certain features work. Learn more, and if you want to agree and continue, tap below. Sounds good!”.

I am unable to access my Snapchat without clicking on the sounds good button. I clicked on the learn more link (https://help.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/articles/7012366118676) which in part say the following:

ITM,

Apologies in advance for the novel.

I'd like to add a few things to the discussion about DDT and bed bugs. I have a Ph.D. in entomology (emphases in toxicology and chemical ecology), and work for the company that manufactures the product Crossfire mentioned in show 1598. Regarding DDT, y'all are generally correct in saying it isn't particularly toxic. The mammalian toxicity is very low and the acute LD50 (lethal dose required to kill 50% of a test population) would be similar to, if not slightly less toxic than, many commonly used pesticides today. The eggshell thinning in birds is mostly attributed to the metabolite DDE. Even then, there is substantial variation in DDE's effect on thinning, both between species and within the same species in different geographic regions. Here's a link to a review article with citations: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.1201/b10598-13/ddt-ddd-dde-birds-lawrence-blus

As far as human effects go, the concern is not with acute toxicity but rather endocrine disruption. DDT and its metabolites are similar in structure to other known endocrine disruptors, like BPA and various halogenated (Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine) biphenolic compounds. Some studies correlate DDT, DDD, and DDE with endocrine issues such as low sperm counts (Singer 1949), breast cancer (Cohn et al. 2015), and epigenetic modifications to babies in utero (Onuzulu et al. 2019). Gun to my head, I'd say unless you're exposed to very high levels of DDT and its metabolites for a very long period of time, there are more important things to worry about.

Eradication of bed bugs, even with DDT, was never going to happen, just like we will never get rid of German cockroaches. The paper that discusses significant reductions in the 50's and 60's states "...many households had fewer furnishings, knickknacks, clothing, toys, and clutter. Contaminating people's belongings with pesticide was also less of a concern at the time. (Potter 2011)" Those two things are significant issues when it comes to treating, whether it be with pesticides or heat.

Without getting sales pitch-y, the main reason Crossfire is so effective is that it contains piperonyl butoxide (PBO), in addition to a pyrethroid and a neonicotinoid. PBO inhibits the enzymes that allow the bugs to metabolize the two other pesticides in Crossfire. To date I'm not aware of any bed bug populations that are resist to this combo. You could make a cocktail similar to Crossfire but you'd have to mix 2 or 3 products together. Either way, PBO is the "secret sauce".

Thanks for all y'all do, and shout out Billy and Spud from War Mode.

The government supplied COVID-19 vaccines, otherwise referred to as the Bridge Access Program, where uninsured or underinsured adults can access the new COVID-19 vaccines, is delayed bye to government incompetence. The CDC was very slow to release programatic information to the states, which led to the delay in the rollout. This was compounded by one state being left out completely, on accident. The government is so incompetent and can’t seem to get any of this stuff right. The insurance companies (not all of them) are also behind getting the new COVID-19 vaccine added into their coding, which has cause some people to be told they have to pay for the vaccine. There is no person in America, from 6months to death, who has to pay out of pocket for the new COVID-19 vaccines. This is another failure on the CDC’s part for not coordinating with insurance companies to ensure they had their ducks in a row prior to the release.

On again off again girlfriend

Link

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:12

Breaking News On Saturday, the World Health Organisation (''WHO'') released a statement claiming: ''Governments make progress towards agreeing amendments to the International Health Regulations.''

However, as Dr. Meryl Nass pointed out, the main point about this statement is that WHO declared it will not share the finalised International Health Regulations (''IHR'') amendments with the public and member states four months before the vote on it in May 2024 as WHO's own rules require.

''WHO's press release states what happened in very general terms, so only the already-initiated will understand it,'' Dr. Nass said.

Here are the relevant statements within WHO's press release:

We will continue work on a range of issues in the inter-sessional period before WGIHR6, as well as in early 2024.

The Co-Chairs noted that, in reference to Decision WHA75(9), it appeared unlikely that the package of amendments would be ready by January 2024. In this regard, the Working Group agreed to continue its work between January and May 2024. The Director-General will submit to the 77th Health Assembly the package of amendments agreed by the Working Group.

Governments make progress towards agreeing amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005), World Health Organisation, 7 October 2023Dr. Nass explained what happened:

Article 55 of the WHO Constitution requires that amendments to WHO documents be offered to the member states and public 4 months in advance of a vote.

The Saudi co-chair said to the public that his Working Group on the IHR amendments may not complete their work by January needed to meet the timeline to be voted on in May 2024. In a choreographed move, he asked Principal Legal Officer Steven Solomon what to do about this. Solomon had already crafted a plan. His plan was to create a specious excuse to ignore the existing rules.

Nobody voted on ignoring them. Nobody said this was okay. It just became a done deal.

The WHO will ignore its own rules and refuse to share the finalised IHR Amendments with the public and member states 4 months before the vote in May 2024, Dr. Meryl Nass, 10 October 2023Let's not lose touch'...Your Government and Big Tech are actively trying to censor the information reported by The Expos(C) to serve their own needs. Subscribe now to make sure you receive the latest uncensored news in your inbox'...

Yesterday, Dr. Nass, James Corbett and James Roguski discussed the United Nations, WHO, conflicts of interest and Steven Solomon's underhand attempt to reinterpret WHO's rules to pass IHR amendments without the public knowing about it.

Earlier this month, the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (''WGIHR'') gathered for one of their mostly secret meetings. ''They dropped what I think is an absolute bombshell,'' Roguski said.

The bombshell was that the co-chair of the Working Group, Dr. Abdullah Asiri of Saudi Arabia, said very clearly that the WGIHR don't think they're going to meet their deadline. This is as outlined by Dr. Nass earlier in this article.

Effectively, Dr. Nass said, Solomon provided a fake legal argument for why WGHIR don't have to give the public four months to review the IHR amendments before they are voted on at the 77th Health Assembly in May 2024.

Roguski believes that the legalese Solomon uses to bend the rules is really an attempt to cover up the WGIHR's failure to bring the Global South and Global North into agreement. He also believes the whole charade of the IHR amendments negotiations belongs in a World Trade Organisation setting rather than a World Health Organisation setting. ''Because they're not talking about health, they're talking about money. This is a trade dispute about intellectual property and 'equity','' he said.

Related: 11 United Nations member countries push back against pandemic declaration, Natural News, 29 September 2023

WGHIR are failing at their public front for this agenda, Corbett argued. It was never about health, he said. ''It was about the money grab. Well, that's a very big part of it. And now they're trying to cover it up with legalese and bureaucratic nonsense.''

The three analysts agreed that WHO are trying to sneak in their plans without us noticing until it's too late. The last thing WHO wants is for people to be paying attention to what they're doing and raise objections. Let's not give WHO what they want; let's raise our voices and make a fuss. #ExitTheWHO

Related: Why you should raise objections with your MP about WHO's proposed IHR amendments and Pandemic Treaty and Amendments to IHR will enable totalitarianism on a global scale

At the end of last month, the US House of Representatives passed its annual State Department and Foreign Operations spending bill. The bill specifically prohibits funds to WHO, along with other organisations with nefarious plans. ''Now that bill will go to the Senate,'' Dr. Nass said. The bill will go back and forth between the House and Senate until a final bill is agreed. It will be up for a final vote in about a month or so, she added. And emphasised that ''it's important that we [Americans] talk to our Senators and our Representatives and say: 'We want these funding cuts to stay in the bill'.'' #DefundThe WHO

Dr. Nass, Corbett and Roguski then deconstructed the propaganda spread by WHO using a promotional video featuring Solomon. The takedown of WHO's dishonest narrative is not only informative but rather enjoyable; it's recommended watching.

Roguski also discussed the true aims of the theatre of the IHR amendments and a Pandemic Treaty ''negotiating text.'' Officially, WHO refers to the Pandemic Treaty as the ''WHO CA+,'' an abbreviation for WHO accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

While this theatre is going on, in the background WHO and its advocates are busy building, among other things, the 'Global Digital Health Certification Network', Roguski said.

To add to Roguski's warning about what is happening behind the scenes, Dr. Nass highlighted a statement by Tedros the Terrorist towards the end of September:

Dr. Tedros said governments and multilateral partners have already commenced building the foundations for a safer world, with the establishment of the Pandemic Fund, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, the WHO BioHub to voluntarily share novel biological materials [i.e., biological warfare agents], and the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub. [Emphasis our own]

WHO welcomes historic commitment by world leaders for greater collaboration, governance and investment to prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics, World Health Organisation, 20 September 2023''These things are specified in the versions of the treaty and the amendments that we've seen so far '... but they haven't been negotiated, they haven't been accepted, they haven't been voted on,'' Dr. Nass said. If this process is about the member nations negotiating and agreeing to the IHR amendments and a Pandemic Treaty, the question is: Why has WHO already started building all these hubs?

To add to WHO's duplicity, it is steeped in conflicts of interest. In June 2022, Fahrie Hassan, a South African molecular biologist, exposed WHO's conflicts of interest at the launch of The African Sovereignty Coalition. Hassan's presentation is included at the end of the video below. You can also watch Hassan's 20-minute presentation HERE. Hassan gave a more comprehensive presentation to the World Council for Health in July 2022 which you can watch HERE and you can find a copy of the slides from his presentation HERE.

Children's Health Defense: WHO's Legal Officer Tries To Reinterpret Rules, Pass IHR Amendments Without the Public Knowing, 9 October 2023 (75 mins)If you are unable to watch the video above on Rumble, you can watch it on CHDTV HERE.

Show notes:Fifth Meeting of the WGIHR: Watch On CHDTVGovernments Make Progress Towards Agreeing Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005)James Roguski The Answer Is No Article '-- Article 55 Sneak AttackThe World Hypocrisy OrganisationArticle-By-Article Compilation of Proposed Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005)Fiscal Year 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations BillMore Cuts of Interest in the Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Bill '' Meryl Nass SubstackJohn Kerry '' Special Presidential Envoy for ClimatePandemic Accord Explained with Steven SolomonWho Funds The WHO? James Roguski SubstackPandemic Treaty Facts '' James RoguskiNational Defense Authorisation Act Fiscal Year 2022WHO Welcomes Historic Commitment by World Leaders for Greater Collaboration, Governance and Investment to Prevent, Prepare for and Respond to Future PandemicsArticle-By-Article Compilation of Proposed Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) Submitted in Accordance with Decision WHA75(9) (2022)Legally Binding: Second Meeting of The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to Draft and Negotiate a WHO Convention, Agreement or Other International Instrument on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and ResponseAnnex 6 International Health RegulationsBank For International SettlementsPetition to the Government of Canada E-4401 (Health)

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:10

We are all very used to hearing on the news about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. If someone were to suggest to the average person that for over a hundred years, 80 per cent of Palestine has been solely and exclusively under the rule of Muslim Arabs, and not a single Jew has lived there during this time, they would likely be seen as either a madman or liar. Nevertheless, this is the sober and unvarnished truth. To understand how this is possible, we should ask ourselves a simple question: where is Palestine?

At first glance, posing the question of where Palestine is may seem absurd to many of us. Ask anyone, and they're likely to give the same automatic'--and wholly incorrect'--response: that Palestine covers the same area as the modern state of Israel. Isn't this the essential nature of the problem in that part of the Middle East, that two peoples both lay claim to the same patch of land? The history of how this false perception came about is a fascinating one and tells us a great deal about just how devious Britain once was as a colonial power.

The map above shows Israel and what is widely believed to be the geographical extent of Palestine. However, prior to the First World War, there had never been a country or nation called Palestine. Two thousand years ago the area was part of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina, covering what is now Syria, Israel, and parts of Jordan. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the territory was seized by Arab armies, the Europeans during the Crusades, and eventually the Ottoman Empire, which ruled that part of the Eastern Mediterranean from Constantinople (now known as Istanbul). This was the situation when the First World War began in 1914. Palestine had never had clearly defined borders, nor had it ever been an independent nation. Nevertheless, Jews and Arabs had both lived in the area for more than a thousand years.

Most of us have heard of Lawrence of Arabia, the British army officer who encouraged the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. His chief allies in this endeavour were the Hashemites, a family which had been the hereditary custodians of the holy places of Arabia for centuries. Sharif Hussein and his sons were promised that after the war had been won, they would be granted independence and autonomy in the Arabian Peninsula. However, both the British and French had plans to retain their influence in the parts of the Middle East which now comprise Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. This was a matter of realpolitik ; in Mosul, for instance, there were large oil fields which the British coveted.

The League of Nations, similar in many ways to the modern United Nations, granted the British a mandate to administer what are now Israel, Jordan, and Iraq, and the French a mandate to rule over Syria. Explicitly stated in the British mandate over Palestine was the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people. For the first time in history, the borders of Palestine were clearly delineated on a map, as seen in the below illustration. This map, however, shows something peculiar: Palestine is five times larger than the state of Israel. So what happened to 80 per cent of Mandate Palestine? The answer is curious.

After the First World War, the Hashemites were driven out of Arabia by the rival Saud family, who still rule the region to this day. Dispossessed of their homeland, the Hashemites looked elsewhere for kingdoms to which they felt that they were entitled and believed had been promised them by the British. One of Sharif's sons, Faisal, declared himself king of Syria. However, he was soon driven out by the French and marched to Baghdad, where he was installed in 1921 as king of Iraq on behalf of the British. Meanwhile, his brother Abdullah, without a throne, gathered an army of Bedouin and announced his plans to invade Syria to seize it for his own. This would have been a major embarrassment to the British, who protected him, so when he reached Amman, a Palestinian city, it was suggested he be content with the area east of the Jordan River. This area'--a considerable chunk of Palestine'--was renamed Transjordan, and Abdullah was appointed Emir or ruler.

It must be noted that Abdullah and his Bedouin army had no relation to Palestine, and the people living there were not consulted about the British decision to give their lands to men whom the Palestinians considered foreigners. From that moment onwards, all the promises made by both Britain and the League of Nations about the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine rang a little hollow, since 80 per cent of the country was now off-limits to them. Instead, they were to be limited to a small sliver of land along the coast.

In this way, the foundations for the present, highly undesirable state of affairs was laid a century ago. When the state of Israel was declared in 1948, a war ensued with the neighbouring Arab countries. Taking advantage of this opportunity, King Abdullah annexed another chunk of Palestine, that area which is now known as the West Bank. It will perhaps be remembered that for the next twenty years, nobody seemed in the least concerned about this expansionist policy, nor was there any suggestion that the Palestinians living on the so-called 'West Bank' should be granted a state of their own. It was only after Israel regained control of the area in 1967 that this idea began to be mooted.

The Palestinians have never reconciled themselves to the theft of the great majority of their country by the Hashemite family and their Bedouin army. In 1970, a bitter civil war broke out in Jordan as the Palestinians attempted to regain control of their country and force out the Hashemites. However, this failed and many Palestinians were forced into exile, particularly in Lebanon. It is curious that few people in the West seemed concerned about these developments. It was only when the Palestinians and Jews clashed that anybody took any notice. It seems to be an accepted truth that the Hashemites and their Bedouin forces have a perfectly legitimate right to occupy the greater part of Palestine, and any turmoil in the region is to be blamed solely on Israel.

In 1921, Palestine was effectively divided into two parts, with the larger segment allocated solely to Arabs, and the smaller being given to Jewish settlers. This de facto partition is now largely forgotten, and instead, Israel '' which only covers roughly 8,000 square miles, similar to the size of Wales '' is constantly vilified for its stubbornness and urged to yield more of its territory to establish an independent Palestinian state. However, when looking at the original map of Palestine, it becomes clear how monstrously unjust it is to expect Israel to accommodate an entire Palestinian homeland, while the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is free to occupy four-fifths of the country.

The title of this piece poses a question, the answer to which may seem obvious to most readers: Palestine is in Israel and has been occupied and dispossessed by the country. However, as is so often the case, the reality is far more complex than it first appears. The truth is that the majority of Palestine lies not in Israel but in Jordan. Israel has attempted to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians living within its territory by permitting a semi-autonomous status to the so-called West Bank. By contrast, Jordan fought a fierce war to drive the Palestinians out of the country that they had, with Britain's help, stolen from them. The Hashemites, supported by their mainly Bedouin army, show no inclination to share the country they seized and occupied with the Palestinians and are determined to not surrender any of it for the cause of peace. To an unbiased observer, the Western preoccupation with that small part of Palestine that lies to the west of the river Jordan, while ignoring the other four-fifths of the country, is odd.

Simon Webb is the author of many books on social and military history. He also runs the History Debunked YouTube channel.

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:30

Anyone who criticized the Chinese government for its secrecy surrounding the disappearance of former foreign minister Qin Gang (including me) is guilty of hypocrisy unless they acknowledge that the U.S. government is being similarly opaque about the fate of one of America's top diplomats. Congress and the American people deserve to know more about what's going on with the State Department's Iran envoy Robert Malley.

First, a bit of background. Until four months ago, Malley was leading the U.S. diplomatic effort on Iran's nuclear program and the fate of U.S. hostages held by Tehran. But it was only two months ago that Congress and the public learned '-- from the media '-- that the State Department had suspended his security clearance because of an investigation into a possible mishandling of classified information. It's since emerged that the FBI is also investigating this matter. (In some cases, mishandling classified information may constitute a federal crime.)

Since that original revelation, a steady trickle of leaks '-- many via Iranian media '-- has shown that the State Department has given both Congress and the public incomplete and often misleading information about the case.

The State Department's lack of transparency has caused a rift with Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, the Iranian state media continues to drop exclusive stories about the affair, sometimes with sensitive U.S. documents attached.

To be clear, there is no public evidence that Malley has done anything wrong. He has not been formally accused of anything and is presumed innocent. But what has lawmakers riled is not only the alleged offense, but also the mounting evidence of a coverup. The timeline of events shows a pattern of obfuscation.

For example, we now know, through leaked U.S. government documents published by the state-controlled Tehran Times, that Malley was informed on April 21 that he was under investigation for mishandling protected information and that his security clearance was suspended. Yet the State Department told Congress and the public nothing about this for weeks, and Malley continued to conduct some of his duties that did not require a security clearance.

On May 16, congressional staffers noticed that Malley had failed to show up for a Senate briefing on Iran. State Department officials told them Malley was on extended ''personal leave'' and implied he was dealing with a family medical issue.

It wasn't until June 29 that U.S. media came out with their first reports on the Malley investigation. That very day, the State Department was telling the press that he was still on the job as U.S. envoy to Iran. In reality, he had been placed on unpaid leave that day.

Then, on July 7, Semafor reported that the FBI was also investigating Malley's possible mishandling of classified information. The State Department has yet to publicly acknowledge the FBI's involvement. Malley declined to comment.

Feeling misled, lawmakers began demanding answers. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) demanded a classified briefing. He emerged from the briefing to decry the lack of information provided.

''The Department's failure to inform Congress of this matter demonstrates at best a lack of candor, and at worst represents deliberate and potentially unlawful misinformation,'' he wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In Washington, Malley is a polarizing figure with strong supporters and detractors. At the time of his security clearance suspension, Malley was deeply involved in a complicated set of multilateral negotiations. His extensive network of relationships, including with Iranian officials and various go-betweens, was surely an asset in those diplomatic endeavors. But the question is whether he crossed the line by sharing some sensitive information he shouldn't have with the wrong person.

Most of the public information about the case has come from the Tehran Times, which first reported (on July 10) that Malley's security clearance had been suspended much earlier than the State Department acknowledged.

The Tehran Times claims to also possess a classified internal State Department memo detailing options for U.S. intelligence agencies to help the Iranian protesters late last year. Malley surely would have been involved in such a memo; could that be connected to his security clearance issue? The State Department won't say '-- and now McCaul is calling for a leak investigation as well.

Administration officials have given congressional staffers explanations for each of these perceived slights. In April and May, Malley technically was on ''personal leave,'' and the State Department officials who conveyed that to Congress weren't aware of the investigation and therefore didn't know they were omitting key information about why, officials said.

Officials claim it was a coincidence that Malley was transferred to unpaid leave the same exact day the news broke of his investigation. They say any misstatements to reporters were the result of internal confusion rather than a deliberate attempt to mislead. Yet even this most benign reading of events (which stretches credulity) amounts to a defense of incompetence.

There's a privacy issue at play as well. One State Department official told me that ''consistent with long-standing practice across administrations of both parties, we cannot and do not brief committees on the facts of ongoing investigations.''

Fair enough. But the State Department's months-long coyness about who was running U.S. Iran policy has eroded trust with lawmakers, the press and the public.

Meanwhile, Malley is keeping busy during his purgatory, taking on new roles at Princeton and Yale. In that sense, he is doing much better than Qin, who has not been seen in public since he fell under investigation and went on extended ''personal leave'' before eventually being relieved of his official duties.

Malley deserves a fair process. The rule of law is one thing that distinguishes the U.S. democratic system from authoritarian ones. Another is honesty and transparency in government.

Opinions about foreign policy

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:29

The Biden administration's former special envoy to Iran, who was placed on leave earlier this year for allegedly mishandling classified material, should face ''extensive scrutiny'' for his ''permissive'' stance toward the Tehran regime after it aided Hamas and Hezbollah in carrying out terrorist attacks against Israel, critics said Monday.

''Rob Malley deserves extensive scrutiny '-- yesterday, today and tomorrow,'' Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told The Post after the Wall Street Journal reported that officers of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps planned and signed off on this weekend's atrocity that killed at least 900.

''These reports could not be more concerning, and they hint at what could be the worst State Department scandal since Alger Hiss,'' Issa added.

''Malley and others created an incredibly permissive environment for Hamas, for Iran, to do all these things,'' added Gabriel Noronha, a former special adviser on Iran at the State Department.

Suspended Iran special envoy Rob Malley, who was placed on leave earlier this year for allegedly mishandling classified material, is under renewed scrutiny from defense hawks. AFP via Getty ImagesNoronha, who served under former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said Malley and his negotiating team ''purposefully funneled billions of dollars to [Iran] through lack of sanctions enforcement and provision of sanctions relief that has given them somewhere between $50 [billion] and $80 billion over the last two and a half years.''

A senior House Republican aide told The Post that the cash influx followed an even more generous payout of $1.7 billion that the Obama administration made to Iran in 2016, eventually contributing to Saturday's attack that triggered the Jewish state's first declaration of war in 50 years.

''There is a straight line from Obama's giveaway to Iran, to Biden's enriching of Iran '-- to Iran's war on Israel,'' the aide said.

''Malley and others created an incredibly permissive environment for Hamas, for Iran to do all these things,'' Gabriel Noronha, a former special adviser on Iran at the State Department, told The Post. REUTERSNoronha also noted the Biden administration had allowed for ''an enormous deterrence failure'' by undertaking just four operations against Iran-backed terror groups after allowing the regime and its proxies to carry out 83 attacks of their own against US forces.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had revealed the muted US response to Iran-backed attacks in Senate testimony earlier this year.

On Saturday, Hamas terrorists launched the largest-scale offensive against Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, firing thousands of rockets into the Jewish state and engaging in a multi-front armed invasion to kill and capture civilians.

Noronha said Malley and his team ''purposefully funneled billions of dollars to [Iran] through lack of sanctions enforcement and provision of sanctions relief that has given them somewhere between $50 and $80 billion over the last two and a half years.'' REUTERSAt least 900 Israelis have been killed, thousands wounded and approximately 150 taken hostage.

The death toll includes 11 Americans, with President Biden admitting Monday afternoon that US citizens were ''likely'' among those kidnapped and held in Gaza.

Noronha pointed out that under the Trump administration, the US did not distinguish ''between the Iranian regime killing Americans and the regime's proxies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, killing Americans.''

Malley was quietly placed on unpaid leave in June for his handling of ''protected material,'' but the State Department has refrained from sharing the nature of the allegations with Congress. AFP via Getty Images''Either way, we would treat that as attacks by the Iranian government itself '-- and respond accordingly,'' he said. ''So now, [11] Americans, at least, are dead. Maybe a dozen-plus are being held hostage.

''There is a temptation by this administration '-- and they've been very clear '-- they've been trying to pretend this isn't their problem,'' Noronha concluded. ''And the reason they're doing that is because they don't want their Iran policy to get screwed.''

Malley was quietly placed on unpaid leave in June for his handling of ''protected material,'' but the State Department has refrained from sharing the nature of the allegations with Congress.

A man stands on a road as fire burns after rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, Israel, October 7, 2023. REUTERSIn August, an Iranian media outlet leaked a memo from Erin Smart, director of the Office of Personnel Security and Suitability in the department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, outlining ''serious security concerns'' with his actions.

The FBI has an ''ongoing'' investigation into the matter, according to the State Department.

Last month, another trove of leaked files revealed that three top aides to Malley were tied to a secretive influence operation by Tehran's Foreign Ministry, according to internal Iranian government correspondence and emails reviewed by Semafor.

Noronha called the allegations against Malley ''deeply troubling'' but said details were scarce about his alleged breaches of US security protocols.

Defense hawks have also criticized Malley, who served as an adviser on Iran policy under former President Barack Obama, for recently surfaced remarks in support of Hamas and Hezbollah. REUTERSDefense hawks have also criticized Malley, who served an adviser on Iran policy under former President Barack Obama, for recently surfaced remarks in support of Hamas and Hezbollah.

''It's a mistake to only think of them in terms of their terrorist violence dimension,'' Malley said in a 2008 interview. ''It has a charity organization, a social branch; it's not something you can defeat militarily either and people need to understand that.''

''There's so much misinformation about them,'' Malley went on. ''None of them are crazies. They may do things that we consider to belong to a different realm of rationality, but within their own system it's often very logical.''

Follow along with The Post's live blog for the latest on Hamas' attack on Israel

''If Hamas is not allowed to govern, if we squeeze them, and you know you may have good reason for doing that, but if you do that, we'll tell you what the reaction will be '-- rockets. No doubt,'' he added. ''And consolidation of Hamas' power in Gaza. Both things have happened.''

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed Malley for the remarks, which resurfaced in May 2021 on X, formerly Twitter.

Noronha called the allegations against Malley ''deeply troubling'' but said details were scarce about his alleged breaches of US security protocols. AFP via Getty Images''Iran, a Hamas supporter, said it 'stands behind the Palestinian struggle,''' Pompeo posted at the time. ''Hamas is a terrorist organization, not a 'charity.' America's negotiators must view them both as enemies '-- not socialites.''

Omri Ceren, a national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), also posted Sunday that ''Malley was so entangled with Hamas that Obama had to drop him as an advisor [sic] during the 2008 campaign '-- before later bringing him back to do Mideast policy.''

''During Biden he oversaw policy allowing Iran to get within reach of nukes and make $100s of billions,'' Ceren said, linking to a Times of Israel article about Malley being cut from Obama's first presidential campaign.

On Monday, after the White House insisted it had not seen evidence that Iran was behind the weekend carnage in Israel, Ceren tweeted: ''Team Biden again behaving as Iran's lawyer.''

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:22

When Alberto Davila, a new immigrant from Venezuela, was given plane tickets last month to come to Chicago from San Antonio, Texas, a long stay in O'Hare Airport isn't what he and his family were told to expect.

''What a surprise this was,'' Davila said, looking around at the hundreds of people sleeping head-to-toe at O'Hare. ''I thought we'd be at a shelter, a stable place where we could work and our kids could get an education.''

Davila, 28, his wife and two kids are among the thousands arriving at the airport with tickets bought by Catholic Charities of San Antonio using federal dollars.

Many say they were told that in Chicago, they'd have help starting a new life. Instead, they have found themselves at O'Hare in an overcrowded ''landing zone,'' as it's called by the city.

That growth is mostly because of the San Antonio Catholic Charities group, according to the city, though there also have been arrivals from other places, such as Houston and New York City. The nonprofit has continued sending migrants despite the city's insistence that it's at capacity.

Many said they are grateful to have shelter at all but are surprised by the living conditions.

On Tuesday, 711 people were living at O'Hare, according to the city, a 73% increase from the start of September, when the Sun-Times first reported on the growing crisis at O'Hare. The migrants at O'Hare represent almost one-fifth of the nearly 3,500 people waiting for space in city shelters to open up.

The airport became an unofficial shelter in June when more migrants arriving by plane and buses left police stations too crowded to bring people there.

The number of migrants at the airport, however, has grown so much that they're now camped out on flattened cardboard boxes throughout the entire ground-floor space.

More than 2,000 migrants arrived via plane from San Antonio between June 3 and Sept. 15, according to the latest available numbers from the city.

Asylum-seeker Andrea Pe±a, 27, feeds her daughter Maria Davila, 1, from Venezuela, inside a waiting area for shuttles near O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 2, where they have been taking shelter this month.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Many, like Davila, told the Sun-Times they came to Chicago at the recommendation of Catholic Charities in San Antonio.

Jefferson Ugueto, his wife and 3-year-old daughter said they were directed to come because it's closer to their ultimate destination '-- upper Minnesota, where they were told by Catholic Charities there's a shelter.

Now that they're in Chicago, they say they have no idea how they'll make the rest of the journey to the small town near the North Dakota border.

''We have no money,'' said Ugueto, 27. ''I don't know what we're going to do.''

Leaders at Catholic Charities in San Antonio have said sending migrants via plane is more humane than busing them, which can be a lengthy journey, during which one migrant toddler died in August.

''How would you feel about being in a bus for two days without knowing the language?'' asked Antonio Fernandez, CEO of the San Antonio nonprofit.

Since a phone call with Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration in early September about the strain put on the city by the arrival of more migrants, Fernandez said the charity has been encouraging migrants to pick a destination other than Chicago if they don't have a sponsor.

''We recommend people not to go to Chicago,'' he said, but, ''we cannot force them.''

In the week after that phone call, the number of arrivals from San Antonio, the vast majority of whom are sent by Catholic Charities, still grew by 33%, according to city data.

Fernandez, who became CEO of Catholic Charities in Texas after several years with Catholic Charities in Chicago, said the organization in San Antonio had been forced to become a transportation hub because of the sheer number of people crossing the border.

More than 18,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago in the last year, requiring city assistance, but the number going through the organization's San Antonio welcoming center was more than 10 times that, according to Fernandez. Top destinations, Fernandez said, included New York, Miami and Chicago, although he said the charity does not keep a record of where it sends people.

Catholic Charities doesn't shelter people for extended stays. There were nearly 11,000 people at the city's 20 shelters on Wednesday and almost 3,200 at Chicago police stations.

Maria Snchez's daughter, who is from Venezuela and was flown in from Texas, plays with a phone inside a waiting area for shuttles near O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 2.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The plane tickets are paid for using funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Fernandez said. The nonprofit has been awarded $48 million through FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program since December. That's compared to about $7 million awarded to Chicago, according to FEMA.

Those funds are spent on staffing the welcoming center to ensure they deliver ''trauma-informed care,'' according to Fernandez, but most is spent on transportation.

Cristina Pacione-Zayas, first deputy chief of staff for Johnson, confirmed the mayor's call with Fernandez last month. She said she understood ''they're trying to manage'' a high number of arrivals but called what they were doing ''reckless.''

''They're trying to displace the responsibility,'' she said of Catholic Charities.

Onomir, a migrant who asked to be identified by her first name only, told the Sun-Times about her stay at O'Hare with her daughter. She said they spent nearly a week without a shower or a bed.

''That was inhumane,'' she said.

By August, others were telling the Sun-Times that they were staying at O'Hare for as long as three weeks.

''We don't have everything we want or need, but at least we're not out on the street,'' said Ender Morin, 35, another migrant arrival from Catholic Charities in San Antonio.

Asylum-seekers Ender Morin, 35, and Dayana Rodriguez, 33, from Venezuela, sit outside a waiting area for shuttles near O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 2.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The wait can be especially hard for those with children, many of whom are sick from the food or cold floors, parents say.

''We all came here to work,'' said Maria Snchez, who said she had been at the airport for nearly a week with her two kids. ''I thought we'd be able to go out and get a better life.''

Even adults without kids can find it difficult.

Cesar Zambrado complained of being hungry, of food that would ''send you to the toilet,'' long lines to use a microwave to reheat food and boredom.

Above all, the 32-year-old said he wanted a change of clothes. He said he had been wearing the same clothes for weeks since leaving a California detention center.

''I thought I would arrive and be able to get into a shelter and start looking for work,'' he said, ruefully. ''It's been very hard.''

Asylum-seekers walk inside a waiting area for shuttles near O'Hare International Airport's Terminal 2 earlier this month. Behind the curtain, hundreds of asylum-seekers have been temporarily sheltered.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Michael Loria is a staff reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times via Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster the paper's coverage of communities on the South Side and West Side.

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:38

There was only one real winner last Saturday when war broke out in Israel '-- Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin's enabling of his ''Arsenals of Evil'' ally, Iran, resulted in the opening of a new front in Gaza in his war against the West.

Mitt Romney got it right in 2012 when he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that ''Russia [is] without question, our number one geopolitical foe'...They fight every cause for the world's worst actors.''

Later, during a presidential debate, Barack Obama responded to Romney, ''The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War's been over for 20 years.''

But this is not your 1980's Russia '-- it is worse. Under Putin's leadership, it has militantly sought to restore its prominence and establish a new global order in its likeness.

There was never going to be a Russia reset. And the ramifications of failed Russia policy has been on full display for the last 11 years '-- under both Republican and Democratic presidential leadership.

Russia has fomented discord, violence and division throughout the Sahel, the Black Sea, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Baltic States. It has done so by sowing disinformation through social media platforms, by direct interventions and by funding and training insurgents to overthrow governments through the use of mercenaries such as PMC Wagner.

Moscow has brutally suppressed uprisings in Chechnya and Syria, supported insurrections in Niger and Sudan, illegally annexed ''Russian-speaking'' territories in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Crimea, and, in Feb. 2022, launched its ''special military operation'' in Ukraine '-- so far a failure that threatens Putin's aspirations.

He needed a distraction, and last weekend he got it.

The Kremlin's surreptitious activities resurfaced in a surprise attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas, code-named Operation Al-Aqsa. Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, described the attack as ''the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.''

It was a multi-domain assault '-- air, land, sea, and cyber. Well beyond the recognized capabilities of Hamas, fueling speculation that the terrorist organization received direct support from Iran, and likely from Russia as well.

The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal confirmed the speculation with respect to Iran. Both reported that Hamas ''began planning the assault at least a year ago, with key support from Iranian allies who provided military training and logistical help as well as tens of millions of dollars for weapons'' '-- and greenlighted the operation last week in Beirut. They also reported officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had trained Hamas.

Putin also likely saw an opening after Congress passed its 45-day continuing resolution last week that provided no additional funding for Ukraine.

Now Israel, an historic and strategic ally in the Middle East, is under attack, facing its own 9/11, just as Russian forces in Ukraine are teetering on the edge of defeat in the Donbas and Crimea. Coincidence? Had the White House, while publicly supporting Ukraine, unwittingly painted itself into Putin's corner?

The evidence for Russian involvement in this atrocity is circumstantial, but present. Putin benefited from leveraging Hamas to incite terror and generate an Israeli response to distract the U.S. government away from supporting Ukraine, and he used Iran to achieve his end.

Russia's relationship with Iran '-- a principal supporter of Hamas '-- suggests a more nefarious relationship.

Hamas leaders traveled to Moscow in March 2023, where according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, their meeting ''touched on Russia's unchanged position in support of a just solution to the Palestinian problem.'' More recently, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Moscow on Sept. 10. At the time, Hillel Frisch, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, thought the purpose of the meeting was ''to signal [Moscow's] displeasure with Israel, perhaps in relation to Ukraine.''

Given the events of Oct. 7, a more likely explanation would be that he back-briefed the Kremlin on Hamas's final preparations for the attack timed to take place on Putin's 71st birthday '-- a quid pro quo.

Other activities suggest Russian support and organization.

According to the Ukrainian Center of National Resistance, members of PMC Wagner, who left Belarus for Africa, allegedly participated in the training of Hamas militants on ''assault tactics and the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles to drop explosive devices onto vehicles and other targets.''

Israeli government and media websites were repeatedly targeted with distributed denial-of-service attacks '-- ''a type of cyberattack that floods websites with traffic and forces them offline'' '-- by hacking groups associated with Russia and allied with Hamas. Killnet and Anonymous Sudan claimed they had brought down multiple Israeli websites, including those of Israel's security agency, Shin Bet and the Jerusalem Post.

A Russian disinformation campaign was launched immediately trying to associate weapons found in Gaza, used by Hamas to slaughter innocent civilians in Israel, with ''Western-donated weapons'' to Ukraine, implying that they had been sold on the black market to Hamas, in an attempt to ''erode support for Ukraine.''

Finally, shortly after the initial attack, there was a call by Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova for Palestine and Israel to ''implement an immediate ceasefire, renounce violence, exercise the necessary restraint and establish, with the assistance of the international community, a negotiation process aimed at establishing a comprehensive, lasting and long-awaited peace in the Middle East.''

After 20 months of the Biden administration providing Ukraine just enough military aid to survive, the Kremlin likely created conditions in Israel to divide the U.S., allowing disinformation to seep within the American political fabric, designed to create dissension and paralysis while placing doubt in the minds of America's allies.

The administration must now support two crises, Ukraine and Israel, while managing a Chinese threat to Taiwan and a North Korean threat to South Korea and Japan. It will not be able to pivot its way out of this.

The National Security team that got the U.S. into this predicament is not the team Washington needs to get us out of it. Bold and resolute solutions are required. The administration can continue to battle the hydra, or it can cut off its immortal head.

That requires a Russia-first strategy '-- a decision that helps Ukraine actually win, while setting conditions for Israel's security.

Defending Israel is a top priority. The White House must strike a balance that meets Israel's and Ukraine's needs. The White House is trying to tie military aid to both together, and that is a step in the right direction.

But it must provide Ukraine what it needs to win '-- namely, precision deep strike weapons and munitions, fighter jets, HIMARS-delivered cluster munitions, and engineering equipment to breach minefields and obstacles.

As Hamas continues its relentless rocket assault on Israel, the U.S. must sustain the Iron Dome missile defense system, while leveraging American military assets, including the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford carrier task force, to keep Hezbollah and other potential regional adversaries in check.

In March 2023, Biden got it right in Warsaw when he exclaimed, ''For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power.'' A Russian defeat in Ukraine would likely bring an end to the Putin regime, and the cancer it propagates throughout the world '-- including Hamas.

Jonathan Sweet, a retired Army colonel and 30-year military intelligence officer, led the U.S. European Command Intelligence Engagement Division from 2012 to 2014. Mark Toth is an economist, entrepreneur, and former board member of the World Trade Center, St. Louis.

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:00

ToplineBillionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman on Tuesday roundly objected to a controversial statement from a group of Harvard University student organizations solely blaming Israel's occupation of Gaza for Hamas' weekend attack on Israel, calling for the names of the students to be released in an effort not to hire them.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman condemned a controversial statement from Harvard University ... [+] students blaming the violence in Israel on its occupation of Gaza.

getty Key FactsThe statement was penned on Saturday by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee with signatures from 33 university student organizations, arguing Hamas' military assault on Israel ''did not occur in a vacuum,'' comparing the Gaza Strip to an ''open-air prison'' while claiming that Israel's ''apartheid regime is the only one to blame,'' Harvard's student newspaper The Harvard Crimson reported.

The statement says Israel is ''entirely responsible'' for the violence that began Saturday, when Hamas militants crossed from Gaza into southern Israel.

Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, tweeted he has been approached by ''a number of CEOs'' asking for the names of the student organizations to ensure ''none of us inadvertently hire any of their members,'' arguing students ''should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists.''

Jonathan Neman, the CEO and co-founder of healthy fast casual chain Sweetgreen, responded to Ackman's post on X, saying he ''would like to know so I know never to hire these people,'' to which healthcare services company EasyHealth CEO David Duel responded: ''Same.''

DoveHill Capital Management CEO Jake Wurzak also supported Ackman's plea to release the names of the students, though Ackman's request did not receive universal support, with Meds.com CEO Stephen Sullivan writing people should ''be angry at the administration and teachers'' but cautioning against putting college students' names on a list.

The statement also gained national attention from business leaders and some lawmakers, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who asked on Monday: ''What the hell is wrong with Harvard?''

TangentHarvard President Claudine Gay issued a statement on Tuesday condemning Hamas' ''terrorist atrocities'' as ''abhorrent,'' and while she did not address the student statement by name, she clarified: ''no student group'--not even 30 student groups'--speaks for Harvard University or its leadership.'' Several Harvard professors have also condemned the statement, including computer science professor Boaz Barak, who argued in a post on X ''everyone who signed this statement is condoning terrorism, rape and murder,'' while former Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier called on the university to issue a statement denouncing Hamas, and the university's Jewish center, Harvard Hillel, argued the statement contributed to ''further hatred and anti-Semitism.''

Chief CriticFormer Harvard President Larry Summers said on Saturday he had ''never been as disillusioned and alienated'' as he was following the student groups' statement, writing on X the university's silence in the immediate aftermath of a statement that solely condemned Israel gave Harvard the appearance of being ''at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.'' Summers'--an economist who served as President Bill Clinton's treasury secretary'--also expressed disappointment with Gay's response, arguing: ''Why can't we give reassurance that the University stands squarely against Hamas terror to frightened students when 35 groups of their fellow students appear to be blaming all the violence on Israel?''

ContraDemocratic leaders have also condemned Hamas' strike, including President Joe Biden, as well as Massachusetts' two Democratic senators'--Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey'--and Gov. Maura Healey (D-Mass.) have also condemned the attack by Hamas from Gaza, with Healey calling the bond between the U.S. and Israel ''unbreakable.'' In a rally in Boston on Monday, Markey was reportedly booed by some members of the crowd for calling for a ''de-escalation.''

Big NumberOver 1,700. That's how many people have died on both sides since the start of the current war. Roughly 1,000 people in Israel are believed to be dead following Hamas's strike, and at least 765 Palestinians have died in Israel's counter-offensive in Gaza, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Update (10/11): This story's headline has been changed to clarify the nature of the statement signed by Harvard students.

Further ReadingHarvard Student Groups Face Intense Backlash for Statement Calling Israel 'Entirely Responsible' for Hamas Attack (Harvard Crimson)

Israel Vows 'Mighty Vengeance': Unprecedented Hamas Attack Leaves At Least 200 Dead (Forbes)

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Archived Version

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:57

Sharon Wrobel is a tech reporter for The Times of Israel.

El Al Israel Airlines announces that for the first time since 1982, it will fly on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, to bring back Israelis called up for emergency military reserve duty as well as security and rescue forces stranded abroad.

Israel's national airline says it is preparing to operate flights this Saturday from the US and Asia to help bring back Israeli army reservists whose return to the country is vital during the current war with the Hamas terror group.

Reserve soldiers will be flying back on Saturday free of charge on two Boeing 787 aircraft leaving from New York and Bangkok. The cost of the flights will be borne by El Al and large US financial institutions, El Al says in a statement.

El Al says breaking its decades-long policy of not flying on the Jewish Sabbath has received halachic approval as the rescue flights are considered part of what is known in Hebrew as pikuah nefesh '-- the Jewish legal principle that saving a life trumps nearly all other religious requirements.

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 12:48

Ali Baraka, a senior Hamas official, told Russia Today in a Sunday interview that Hamas demands that the United States engage in prisoner swaps and cited President Joe Biden's recent Iran hostage deal as a rationale for taking of American captives.

Baraka noted in a translated excerpt of the interview provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that there are multiple Hamas members serving life sentences in U.S. prisons. ''We demand that the U.S. free our sons from prisons,'' Baraka said. (RELATED: Watch As Hamas Spokesman Walks Off Interview With Chris Cuomo)

Senior Hamas Official Ali Baraka: We Have Been Secretly Planning the Invasion for Two Years; Russia Sympathizes with Us, Benefits from U.S. Embroilment in This War; Any Swap Deal Should Include Hamas Prisoners in Europe and the U.S. #Hamas #Russia #Israel_under_attack pic.twitter.com/JNGQotkKg5

'-- MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) October 11, 2023

At least 20 Americans are missing and at least 22 are dead after Hamas' Saturday attack on Israel. President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday that Americans are among the hostages taken back to Gaza.

Baraka said that there was plenty of precedent to suggest that the United States would comply with Hamas' demands. ''The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn't it conduct a prisoner swap with us?'' Baraka asked.

The Biden administration's Sept. 11, 2023 deal with Iran involved the United States transferring $6 billion to the Islamic Republic in exchange for the release of five American prisoners.

''Biden, the highest authority in the U.S., declared that he stands with Israel against Hamas and the Palestinian people. Therefore, he is a partner to this aggression, he must pay the price,'' Baraka said in the interview.

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Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:42

Integrated Civil Society Organizations System The integrated Civil Society Organizations (iCSO) System, developed by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), facilitates interactions between civil society organizations and DESA.

The system provides online registration of general profiles for civil society organizations, including address, contacts, activities and meeting participation, facilitates the application procedure for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and assists accredited NGOs in submitting quadrennial reports and in designating representatives to the United Nations.

Please use the simple or advanced search to find out more about civil society organizations in our large database of over 24,000 entries. The advanced search allows many combinations, including by organization name and type, region and country, consultative status, language, geographic scope, fields of activity and meeting participation. read more >>

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 15:16

 

The tiny bloodsuckers who have Paris in a frenzy have reportedly started to cross the English channel and are also causing widespread worries in the UK’s capital.

London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has admitted that the possibility of bedbugs on London’s public transport is a ‘real source of concern’.

Khan is in contact with officials in Paris where footage shows them crawling on seats of buses and trains.

Transport for London (TfL) is keeping an eye on the situation, disinfecting seats daily as part of its cleaning protocol.

 

Daily Mail reported:

“In response to the threat of bedbugs, Mr Khan told PoliticsJoe: ‘This is a real source of concern. People are worried about these bugs in Paris causing a problem in London.’

He added: ‘I want to reassure those listening that TfL has the best regimes to clean our assets on a nightly basis. 

We are speaking to our friends in Paris to see if there are any lessons to be learnt but for a variety of reasons we don’t think those issues will arise in London; but there is no complacency from TfL’.”

Experts have warned that the blood-sucking bugs have developed a resistance to insecticides.

A picture on X shows a pest climbing on the window of a First Bus, and the passenger urges the public transport operator to ‘do something about this, quickly’.A major UK hotel chain is quizzing guests on ‘whether they have arrived from France’.

The rooms of those who came from France are given a ‘deep clean’ by pest control experts when they leave.

Sky News reported:

“‘I think there’s probably a similar level of issue in London as there is in Paris at present’, microbiologist and founder of Bed Bugs Ltd David Cain told Sky News.

‘They’re already on buses, trains, tubes, cinemas, doctor’s surgeries, public spaces, hospitals’.”

Bed bug infestations rose 65% in the UK from 2022 to 2023.

Natalie Bungay, British Pest Control Association: “‘Reports of bed bug activity tend to increase in the summer as people travel more.

The lack of travel during COVID-19 lockdowns meant bed bug issues were few and far between, so it’s not surprising we’re now seeing a rapid rise in call outs’.”

It is estimated that 5% of households in London have had a bed bug infestation in the last two years.

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:40

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Palestinian militant commander (born 1965)

Mohammed Deif (Arabic: محمّد اÙضيف , romanized: Muḥammad Ḍayf ; born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Masri;[3] 1965) is a Palestinian militant and supreme military commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Mohammad Masri was born in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip that was set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After joining Hamas in 1990, he later became known as Mohammed Deif (Deif meaning guest in Arabic), owing to his nomadic lifestyle.[4]

Despite being the Israeli military's 'most wanted' man since 1995 for orchestrating the killings of Israeli soldiers and civilians, he has survived seven assassination attempts in the past two decades.[5] In the first assassination attempt on his life, he is thought to have lost an eye, and in the second, to have lost a part of his arm; he is thought to be handicapped.[6] Deif's wife, 7-month infant son, and 3-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2014.[7] The most recent Israeli attempt to kill Deif was during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.[8]

The United States Department of State added Deif to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists on 8 September 2015.[9][10]

Early life He was born Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masri in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the 1965 to a Palestinian refugee family from al-Qubeiba and settled in the Khan Yunis camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

He went on to study science at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he was part of a theatre group called The Returnees.

Deif joined the Hamas movement at the end of 1987. He returned to school and received his education at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he graduated in 1988 after obtaining a bachelor's degree in science.

During this time, Deif created the Islamic theater group al-Ayedun, as he is known for his passion for acting. He played several theatrical roles, including historical figures.

Deif was responsible for the technical committee during his Islamic University Student Council activity.

Israel arrested him in 1989, and he spent 16 months in prison without trial on charges of working in the movement's military apparatus.

After his release, Deif and other figures began establishing al-Qassam Brigades the military wing of Hamas.

During the 1990s, he supervised and participated in countless operations against Israel.

Militant career Hamas Deif joined Hamas in 1990 with the help of Yahya Ayyash and Adnan al-Ghoul, his long time associates.[11] In 1994, Deif was involved in the kidnappings and killing of IDF soldiers Shahar Simani, Aryeh Frankenthal and Nachshon Wachsman. He was personally responsible, along with Yahya Ayyash, for the bus bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon, attacks that killed about 50 Israelis. Five suicide bombers he sent into Israel in March 2000 were killed by Yamam. After his release from PA prison in April 2001, he was involved in a 'wave of bombing attacks' that lasted several months during the second intifada.[5]

Deif became the supreme military commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades after Israel assassinated Salah Shehade in July 2002.[12] Israel holds him directly responsible for the murder of dozens of civilians in numerous suicide bombings since 1995, among them the Jaffa Road bus bombings in Jerusalem. He along with Nidal Fat'hi Rabah Farahat and Adnan al-Ghoul played a key role in the attacks perpetrated in Israel. Deif has been the top of Israel's most wanted list for over two decades.

In February 2006, some Israeli media argued that Deif would build an Al Qaeda network in the Gaza Strip since he did not support the approach of Hamas. This claim, however, was denied by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[11]

Assassination attempts He has survived five Israeli air strikes, which caused him serious injuries and handicaps. Despite initial reports of his death in an Israeli air strike on 27 September 2002, an Israeli intelligence official confirmed that he survived the attack.[13] His senior assistant, Adnan al-Ghoul, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 21 October 2004.[14]

In the early morning hours of 12 July 2006, an Israeli F16 aircraft bombed a house in which high-level ranking Hamas leaders were meeting. Deif survived the blast, but severely injured his spine.[15] After this event, Ahmed Jabari became the acting commander of Hamas military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.[16]

On 19 August 2014, the Israeli air force conducted an airstrike on a house in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City[17] that killed Deif's wife (27-year-old Widad Asfoura),[18] and two of his children (7-month-old son Ali, and 3-year-old daughter Sara), and also three civilians.[19][20][21] Hamas denied that Deif was killed.[3][22][23]

In April 2015, it was reported in Israeli media citing intelligence sources that Deif survived the assassination attempt.[24]

During Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, it was reported that Israel military had tried to kill Deif twice in one week but that he got away at the last minute both times.[8]

Quotes In December 2010, the Hamas movement marked the 23rd anniversary of its establishment with an official booklet entitled The Path of Glory (Darb al-ezza), which includes statements by Hamas military leaders alongside statistical and numerical data on military operations carried out against Israel.

Mohammed Deif wrote: "The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades ... are better prepared to continue on our exclusive path to which there is no alternative, and that is the path of jihad and the fight against the enemies of the Muslim nation and mankind.... We say to our enemies: you are going on the path to extinction (zawal), and Palestine will remain ours including Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Al-Aqsa (mosque), its towns and villages from the (Mediterranean) Sea to the (Jordan) River, from its North to its South. You have no right to even an inch of it."[25]

On 14 December 2022, Al Deif issued a Statement during the 35th Anniversary Celebration to mark the Founding of Hamas. Deif said: ''Let all the flags unite. Let all the fronts unite. Let all the platforms (of Resistance) to be opened towards a single goal, and that is the Liberation of Palestine''.[26][27][28]

2023 Israel''Hamas war Deif said in a recorded message on the first day of the 2023 Israel''Hamas war, that it was in response to what he called the "desecration" of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israel killing and wounding hundreds of Palestinians in 2023.[29] He called on Palestinians and Arab Israelis to "expel the occupiers and demolish the walls".[29][30][31] He continued: "In light of the continuing crimes against our people, in light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and western support, we've decided to put an end to all this, so that the enemy understands that he can no longer revel without being held to account."[32][33]

References ^ "Thousands mourn slain wife, baby of Hamas commander". GMA News Online. 20 August 2014 . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ Messing, Dafna (11 May 2021). "Who are you, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, aka Muhammed Deif?". Alma Research and Education Center . Retrieved 15 August 2023 . ^ a b "Hamas Confirms: Mohammed Deif is Still Alive". Arutz Sheva . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ Messing, Dafna (11 May 2021). "Who are you, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, aka Muhammed Deif?". Alma Research and Education Center . Retrieved 15 August 2023 . ^ a b "Who is Mohammed Deif?". Haaretz. 20 August 2014. ^ "Mohammed al-Deif lives". Al Monitor. 27 January 2015 . Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ "Body of Deif's daughter, 3, pulled from Gaza rubble". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ a b "Israel tried to kill Hamas chief Mohammed Deif twice in Gaza operation". Jerusalem Post. 19 May 2021 . Retrieved 19 May 2021 . ^ "US Blacklists 4 Hamas, Hezbollah Operatives". The New York Times. 8 September 2015. ^ "Terrorist Designations of Yahya Sinwar, Rawhi Mushtaha, and Muhammed Deif". United States Department of State. 8 September 2015 . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ a b "Mohammad Deif '' Head of the Armed Wing". IDF. 21 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012 . Retrieved 15 November 2012 . ^ Asser, Martin (26 September 2002). "Profile: Hamas commander Mohammed Deif". BBC News . Retrieved 15 November 2012 . ^ "Official: Hamas target survives Israeli attack". CNN. 27 September 2002 . Retrieved 15 November 2012 . ^ "Israel raid kills Gaza Hamas man". 22 October 2004 . Retrieved 31 August 2019 . ^ "Israel's Most Wanted Man Seriously Injured in Bombing". WLTX. Gaza City. AP. 12 July 2006 . Retrieved 15 November 2012 . ^ Chabin, Michele (14 November 2012). "Israelis brace for attacks after Hamas leader killed". USA Today. Jerusalem . Retrieved 17 November 2012 . ^ "Israeli airstrikes target Hamas military chief in Gaza: report". Xinhua. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. ^ "Love in the time of Gaza: The story of Mohamed Al-Deif and his late wife Widad Asfoura". Middle East Monitor. 3 September 2014 . Retrieved 8 October 2023 . ^ Kershner, Isabel; Akram, Fares (20 August 2014). "After Strike on Family, Fate of Hamas Commander is Unknown". The New York Times. ^ Levy, Elior (20 August 2014). "Hamas vows revenge for Deif's family". ynet . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ "Hamas Terror Chief's Daughter Killed in Strike Too - Middle East - News - Arutz Sheva". Arutz Sheva . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ "Gaza killing resumes with peace talks in tatters". CBS News. 20 August 2014. ^ "UPDATE 4-Gaza war rages on, Hamas says Israel tried to kill its military chief". Reuters. 20 August 2014. ^ "Hamas military commander Deif said to be alive in Gaza Strip". The Jerusalem Post - JPost.com. 29 April 2015 . Retrieved 9 September 2015 . ^ Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi (3 January 2011). "Talking to Hamas? '' Increasing Expressions of Genocidal Intent by Hamas Leaders Against the Jews". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs . Retrieved 18 November 2012 . ^ "Milli Gazete | The Honor Of The Ummah Hamas: 35 Years Old!". en.milligazete.com.tr . Retrieved 14 August 2023 . ^ admin (14 December 2022). "Now Or Never: Hamas Leader Warns Israel Regarding Prisoners' Exchange Deal (PHOTOS)". Palestine Chronicle . Retrieved 14 August 2023 . ^ "Resistance News Network". Telegram . Retrieved 14 August 2023 . ^ a b Pacchiani, Gianluca (7 October 2023). "Hamas commander says attacks are in defense of Al-Aqsa, claims 5,000 missiles fired". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023 . Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ ח×'ב×, ××× ×‘ (7 October 2023). מוחמ×' ×'×£ ××' מתקפת ×--רק×ות: ××(C)רא×' ח××'×'×-- את א×'-אק×...א, קורא ×'×רב×× ××(C)רא×' ×'×--×...×רף [Mohammed Page on the rocket attack: Israel has blasphemed al-Aqsa, calls on the Israeli Arabs to join]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 7 October 2023 . Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ "What We Know About the Hamas Attack and Israel's Response". The New York Times. 7 October 2023 . Retrieved 7 October 2023 . ^ Nakhoul, Samia; Bassam, Laila (11 October 2023). "How a secretive Hamas commander masterminded the attack on Israel". Reuters . Retrieved 11 October 2023 . ^ " 'The Guest': the Palestinian mastermind behind deadly Israel incursion" . Financial Times. 7 October 2023 . Retrieved 7 October 2023 .

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Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:40

Israel calls last week's devastating attack by Hamas its 9/11 moment. The secret mastermind behind the assault, Palestinian militant Mohammed Deif, calls it Al Aqsa Flood.

The phrase Israel's most wanted man used in an audio tape broadcast as Hamas fired thousands of rockets out of Gaza on Saturday signalled the attack was payback for Israeli raids at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque.

It was in May 2021, after a raid on Islam's third holiest site that enraged the Arab and Muslim world, when Deif began planning the operation that has killed more than 1,000 people in Israel, according to a source close to Hamas in Gaza.

"It was triggered by scenes and footage of Israel storming Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, beating worshippers, attacking them, dragging elderly and young men out of the mosque," the source said. "All this fuelled and ignited the anger."

That storming of the mosque compound, long a flashpoint for violence over matters of sovereignty and religion in Jerusalem, helped set off 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

More than two years on, Saturday's assault, the worst breach in Israeli defences since the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict, pushed Israel to declare war and launch retaliatory strikes on Gaza that had killed more than 850 people by Tuesday.

A survivor of seven Israeli assassination attempts, the most recent in 2021, Deif rarely speaks and never appears in public so when Hamas's TV channel announced he was about to speak on Saturday, Palestinians knew something significant was afoot.

"Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended," Deif said in the recording.

There are only three images of Deif: one of him aged in his 20s, another of him masked, and an image of his shadow, which was used when the audio tape was broadcast.

The whereabouts of Deif is unknown, though he is most likely in Gaza in the maze of tunnels under the enclave.

An Israeli security source said Deif was directly involved in the planning and operational aspects of the attack.

Two brains, one mastermind

The source close to Hamas said the decision to prepare the attack was taken jointly by Deif, who commands Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades, along with Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, but it was clear who was the architect.

"There are two brains, but there is one mastermind," the source said, adding that information about the operation was known only to a handful of Hamas leaders.

Secrecy was such that Iran, Israel's sworn foe and an important source of finance, training and weaponry for Hamas, knew only in general terms that the movement was planning a major operation and did not know the timing or the details, a regional source familiar with the group's thinking.

The source said that while Tehran was aware a major operation was being prepared, it was not discussed in any joint operation rooms involving Hamas, the Palestinian leadership, Iranian-backed Lebanese militants Hezbollah, and Iran.

"It was a very tight circle," the source said.

A young boy carries a toy gun as Hamas supporters hold a poster of Deif during a 2014 demonstrationIran's top authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that Tehran was not involved in the attack on Israel. Washington has said while Tehran was complicit, it had no intelligence of evidence that points to Iran's direct participation in the attacks.

The plan as conceived by Deif involved a prolonged effort at deception. Israel was led to believe that Hamas, an ally of Israel's sworn foe Iran, was not interested in launching conflict and was focusing instead on economic development in Gaza, where the movement is the governing power.

But while Israel began providing economic incentives to Gazan workers, the group's fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight of the Israeli military, a source close to Hamas said.

"We have prepared for this battle for two years," said Ali Baraka, the head of external relations for Hamas.

Speaking in a calm voice, Deif said in his recording that Hamas had repeatedly warned Israel to stop its crimes against Palestinians, to release prisoners, whom he said were abused and tortured, and to halt its expropriation of Palestinian land.

"Every day the occupation storm our villages, towns and cities in the West Bank and raid houses, kill, injure, destroy and detain.

"At the same time, it confiscates thousands of acres of our land, uproots our people from their houses to build settlements while its criminal siege continues on Gaza," he said.

In the shadows

For well over a year, there has been turmoil in the West Bank, an area about 100km long and 50km wide that has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since it was seized by Israel in 1967.

Deif said Hamas had urged the international community to put an end to the "crimes of the occupation" but Israel had stepped up its provocation. He also said Hamas had in the past asked Israel for a humanitarian deal to release Palestinian prisoners, but this was rejected.

"In light of the orgy of occupation and its denial of international laws and resolutions, and in light of American and western support and international silence, we've decided to put an end to all this," he said.

Born as Mohammad Masri in 1965 in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the militant leader became known as Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987.

He was arrested by Israel in 1989 and spent about 16 months in detention, a Hamas source said.

Deif earned a degree in science from the Islamic University in Gaza, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology.

He displayed an affinity for the arts, heading the university's entertainment committee and performing on stage in comedies.

Palestinians inspect the wreckage of Deif's car after it was fired on by an Israeli helicopter in 2002Rising up the Hamas ranks, Deif developed the group's network of tunnels and its bomb-making expertise.

He has topped Israel's most wanted list for decades, held personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings.

For Deif, staying in the shadow has been a matter of life or death. Hamas sources said he lost an eye and sustained serious injuries in one leg in one of Israel's assassination attempts.

His wife, seven-month-old son, and three-year-old daughter were killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2014.

His survival while running Hamas's armed wing has earned him the status of a Palestinian folk hero.

In videos he is masked, or just a shadow of him is seen. He doesn't use modern digital technology such as smart phones, the source close to Hamas said.

"He is elusive. He is the man in the shadows."

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Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:36

A Zimbabwe- and Dubai-based firm has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zimbabwe that would see a fifth of the southern African country's landmass conceded for carbon credit production.

The deal, which was announced in Harare on 29 September, will give Blue Carbon blanket control over 7.5 million hectares of Zimbabwean forest.

The agreement comes shortly after the firm signed a slew of similar controversial MOUs with other African countries, including a deal with Liberia conceding 10 percent of the country's territory to the firm, in breach of several land laws.

The flurry of contracts comes ahead of the UN Climate Summit Cop 28, set to take place in Dubai in November, with carbon credits slated to be a topline issue.

The global $2bn voluntary carbon offset market allows carbon emitters to offset emissions by purchasing credits from emission-reducing projects primarily in forest conservation.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey UnpackedBlue Carbon's chairman, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, a member of the UAE royal family, said the deal could funnel $1.5bn in climate finance into the country.

The Dubai-based firm was established only a year ago and has no track record of managing carbon offset projects.

Campaigners have warned that Al Maktoum's ties to the royal family, who are heavily invested in oil and gas infrastructure, mean that these deals carry a ''greenwashing risk,'' as the harvested credits could also be used to offset UAE's own emissions.

'A secret'Zimbabwe is the third largest carbon credit producer in Africa and the site of the Kariba project, the world's first large-scale forest protection project spanning 785,000 hectares, jointly managed by Zimbabwean entrepreneur, Stephen Wentzel, and Swiss carbon credits trading company, South Pole.

Attracting multinationals such as Gucci and Volkswagen, South Pole reaped 100 million euros from the project. Half of these profits were originally promised to local communities, but a Follow the Money investigation revealed that most of that sum remained unaccounted for.

'The money does not usually go directly to the community which is involved in the preservation of the forest'

- Tracy Mutowekuziva

In May, the Zimbabwean government revised its carbon regulations to reduce a government share in profits from carbon offset projects to 30 percent. Carbon trading developers will retain 70 percent, but will have to invest a quarter of their profits in community projects.

But according to Tracy Mutowekuziva, an attorney for the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), there are concerns about whether the money will reach the impacted communities.

''The money does not usually go directly to the community which is involved in the preservation of the forest,'' Mutowekuziva told MEE. ''Usually the government just takes the money and they do what they think the community needs.''

Like the MOU with Liberia that preceded it, the details of the contract are opaque.

''It's a secret'...We really don't know the figures. We can't even tell if the (value) of the land is accurately measured or if it tallies with the amount being offered by the buyer,'' Mutowekuziva said.

A resource curseCustomary land rights are not enshrined in Zimbabwean law, which stipulates that communal land is owned by the government.

''We know that the government has not respected communal land rights historically,'' a communication specialist for Zimbabwe, Shaun Matsheza, told MEE. ''This is a colonial legacy that was not corrected upon independence.''

'You can be uprooted at the drop of a hat'

- Shaun Matsheza, communication specialist for Zimbabwe

''You can be uprooted at the drop of a hat,'' Matsheza said. ''You can't actually trust that any investments you make in your land are going to pay off in the end because you could easily be displaced.''

According to Matsheza, no villages were consulted about the deal.

''This has been the case for multiple other deals which the government makes behind closed doors, and is never actually put up for deliberation or any form of democratic process,'' Matsheza said.

Zimbabwe has long been plundered for its resources, with coal mining swallowing vast tracts of land and displacing thousands. A 2019 report by a local watchdog found that mining projects would displace at least 30,000 families within five years.

In 2010, diamond mining in Marange saw thousands of people forcibly relocated to a deserted government farm without compensation.

''Every time a resource is discovered it has terrible implications for the community'...it's a resource curse,'' Matsheza told MEE.

Swathes of the land earmarked for the deal also include existing nature reserves.

Blue Carbon says it adheres to the standards of REDD+, the international initiative to reduce emissions from deforestation.

Cop28 host UAE 'failed to report' decade of methane emissions to UN

Read More >>However, REDD+ requires additionality, which dictates that a project generates additional benefits, such as carbon reductions, to the ones that would naturally occur without it.

And by buying land that includes protected land, Blue Carbon would not be providing any additional benefits.

Mounting scientific evidence is casting doubt on the efficacy of carbon credits in reducing emissions: a recent study on Verra, the world's largest carbon standard framework, found that 94 percent of the credits had no benefit for the climate.

''It's essentially increasing the licence for developed countries to further pollute the environment,'' Matsheza told MEE.

''What Blue Carbon has done is identify this opportunity and place themselves as the middleman between developed countries and developing countries who are yet to fully develop mechanisms for participating in this market.''

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:44

X CEO Elon Musk leaves a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13, 2023.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

A European regulator has issued Elon Musk a stern warning about the spread of illegal content and disinformation on X, formerly known as Twitter, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Failure to comply with the European regulations around illegal content could result in fines worth 6% of a company's annual revenue.

Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market, said in a letter addressed to Musk on Tuesday that his office has "indications" that groups are spreading misinformation and "violent and terrorist" content on X, and urged the billionaire to respond within a 24-hour period.

The letter comes after numerous researchers, news organizations and other groups have documented a rise of misleading, false and questionable content on X, creating confusion about the current conflict.

Breton shared his letter via an X post, tagging Musk's handle and including a hashtag that refers to the Digital Services Act, the newly enacted legislation by the European Commission '-- the executive arm of the European Union '-- that requires platforms with more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU to monitor for and take down illegal content as well as detail their protocols for doing so.

He reminded Musk in the letter that the DSA "sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation," and that X needs "to be very transparent and clear on what content is permitted under your terms and consistently and diligently enforce your own policies."

EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, Japan July 3, 2023.

Issei Kato | Reuters

The commissioner said that recent "changes in public interest policies" caused confusion in "many European users." Breton seemed to be referring to a change that X made over the weekend to its public interest policy that influences whether the company decides to leave certain posts available for everyone to see despite the messages violating policy rules.

"Public media and civil society organisations widely report instances of fake and manipulated images and facts circulating on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or military footage that actually originated from video games," the letter said. "This appears to be manifestly false or misleading information."

Breton said that he wants Musk to ensure that X's "systems are effective" and "report on the crisis measures taken to my team."

He added that he expects X "to be in contact with the relevant law enforcement authorities and Europol, and ensure that you respond promptly to their requests."

"I remind you that following the opening of a potential investigation and a finding of non-compliance, penalties can be imposed," Breton wrote.

X did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Watch: Elon Musk has "cut off the good guys, empowered the bad guys."

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:38

Update (1042ET):

*FINLAND: PIPELINE DAMAGE LIKELY DUE TO `EXTERNAL SOURCE'

'-- zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 10, 2023* * *

Months after famed journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh revealed the US blew up the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in September 2022 during a covert operation under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise, yet another undersea gas pipeline, this time, connecting Finland and Estonia has allegedly come under attack.

Gasgrid Finland and Elering, the Finnish and Estonian gas system operators, detected an "unusual" leak in the 77-kilometer (48-mile) interconnector in the early morning hours on Sunday.

"Based on observations, it was suspected that the offshore pipeline between Finland and Estonia was leaking," Gasgrid Finland said in a statement. "The valves in the offshore pipeline are now closed and the leak is thus stopped."

ERR News reported that the Estonian Navy started surveying the pipeline with its equipment on Monday, while the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service will also be involved in the investigation.

While the Finnish operator gave no reason for the suspected leak on Monday, Finnish officials, one day later, have now said their investigation of the leak will be on the premise of sabotage.

FINNISH DAILY ILTALEHTI, SWEDISH PUBLIC RADIO, CITING FINNISH GOVERNMENT SOURCES: ESTONIA-FINLAND SUBSEA GAS PIPELINE HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY DAMAGED... queue Western media outlets who will likely place blame on Moscow - just as they did after the September 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream undersea pipeline that once connected Germany with cheap natural gas from Russia.

In early 2023, journalist Seymour Hersh published a bombshell report as his first Substack post that the US blew up the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline as part of a covert operation under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise.

Last month, on the first anniversary of the bombing, he posted an article titled "A Year of Lying About Nord Stream, deals with motive. What was the United States' motive?" His sources said told him:

Biden administration blew up the pipelines but the action had little to do with winning or stopping the war in Ukraine. It resulted from fears in the White House that Germany would waver and turn on the flow of Russia gas'--and that Germany and then NATO, for economic reasons, would fall under the sway of Russia and its extensive and inexpensive natural resources. And thus followed the ultimate fear: that America would lose its long-standing primacy in Western Europe.

Back to the busted Finland and Estonia undersea pipeline, which Bloomberg stated: "Finland must rely fully on its floating LNG terminals for supply, while Estonia began receiving piped gas from Latvia."

News of the leak sent US and EU NatGas prices higher.

While there are no conclusions about the leak in the Baltic, it comes as the Northern Hemisphere winter is just months away.

The good news is the EU's NatGas storage is well above normal levels for this time of year.

And the latest data from the Energy Information Administration shows the US exported more LNG in the first half of the year than any other country in the world.

Much of the LNG exports ended up in Europe.

So, who stands to benefit if Europe's energy independence and or cheap supplies from Russia are disrupted? Well, it's undoubtedly not Russia, as the corporate media likes to tout. Instead, it's the US energy-industrial complex, as well as Washington.

Loading...

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:37

The Washington Post is moving to reduce its headcount by roughly 240 personnel and will offer voluntary buyouts to achieve that goal instead of more conventional layoffs.

Interim CEO Patty Stonesifer wrote to staff on Tuesday confirming the plan and blaming the necessity of the move on "overly optimistic" revenue and traffic projections. The paper currently employees roughly 2,500 people and members of select departments will receive the buyout offers.

News of the staff reduction follows prior layoffs at the paper and comes amid projections of substantial losses, which The New York Times has suggested could reach $100 million for the year.

"The urgent need to invest in our top growth priorities brought us to the difficult conclusion that we need to adjust our cost structure now," Stonesifer told employees.

The Post is not the only media outlet to struggle in recent months. National Public Radio in February announced a 10% reduction in its workforce while CNN, in late 2022, announced its own layoffs.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.

The Facts Inside Our Reporter's Notebook

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Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:36

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, claimed during court testimony on Tuesday that the alleged fraudster thought he had a chance of winning the presidency, according to The Messenger.

The disgraced cryptocurrency tycoon allegedly estimated he had a 5% chance of becoming president at some point, according to Ellison's testimony, The Messenger reported. Bankman-Fried allegedly masterminded a scheme to divert billions of dollars from customers' FTX deposits to fund campaign contributions, donations to charities and real estate acquisitions before its collapse, according to The New York Times. (RELATED: 'He Directed Me To Commit These Crimes': Alleged Fraudster's Ex Blames Him At Trial)

''At one point, he said there was a 5% chance he'd become president someday,'' Ellison stated, according to The Messenger.

Ellison: We started sleeping together on and off in the summer of 2020. We dated and broke up. AUSA: What did the defendant tell you about his ambitions? Ellison: That he would be President. AUSA: Of what? Ellison: The United States.

'-- Inner City Press (@innercitypress) October 10, 2023

Bankman-Fried faces seven charges in total, including defrauding FTX customers and lenders, according to the NYT. He gave over $39 million to back Democrat-aligned causes, and was the second-largest individual contributor to such causes during the 2022 midterm election cycle, according to The Washington Post's analysis of Federal Election Commission data.

The alleged fraudster used ''billions of dollars in stolen funds for a variety of purposes, including '... to help fund over a hundred million dollars in campaign contributions to Democrats and Republicans to seek to influence cryptocurrency regulation,'' according to the superseding indictment against him.

Furthermore, Bankman-Fried looked into the legality of bribing then-President Donald Trump with money to not run for reelection in 2020, according to an excerpt from the new book ''Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon'' by author Michael Lewis. He also planned to give between $15 million and $30 million to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to beat ''Trumpier'' candidates in 2020 Senate races, according to Lewis.

Bankman-Fried's attorney did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation's request for comment.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

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Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:30

Not surprisingly, there has been no shortage of reprehensible reactions from the Usual Suspects on the far left here in the U.S. after news broke early Saturday of Hamas' surprise terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians.

While we've focused a lot on what members of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "Squad" of Democratic Socialists have had to say (which has included a lot of victim-blaming and calls for Israel to not defend itself) as well as the Biden administration's unacceptable response to the situation so far, there are others to call out, including the radical activists who routinely help propel the Rashida Tlaibs of America into public office.

Take, for instance, Black Lives Matter - Chicago, which left zero doubt where they stood on the Hamas-Israel war with a graphic they chose to share on their Twitter feed Tuesday:

That is all that is it! pic.twitter.com/7DhTIeJ0yl

'-- BLMChicago (@BLMChi) October 10, 2023Not sure if it will show up in the embedded tweet, but it was Community Noted by Twitter users to point out that "On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists in paragliders attacked a music festival in Israel, killing over 260 people."

As reported by the New York Post at the time:

At least 260 people were killed in a ''massacre'' at an Israeli music fest, which included Israeli officers getting blown away while acting as human shields and hostages having their legs shot so they couldn't run, survivors say.

Graphic new images include a photo of scores of dead lying in a tent at the rave, which turned into bloody mayhem after heavily armed Palestinian terrorists paraglided across the Gaza Strip border in Saturday's early morning sneak attack on Israel.

Video showed the unsuspecting crowd earlier dancing to music as the terrorists could be seen coming down in the distance on motorized paragliders.

(READ-->> True Savagery: Hamas Terrorists Murdered Over 250 at Music Festival Near Gaza)

In other words, BLM Chicago really is no better than the Hamas terrorists who paraglided into that festival and murdered, kidnapped, and raped innocent people in the name of "freedom" from the so-called "occupation" or whatever.

Not that we didn't know this already, but it's important to document it for the record all the same.

Black Lives Matter Grassroots also weighed in with a show of solidarity to "Palestine," and even though they left the graphic out, the message was no different:

Black Lives Matter GrassrootsStatement in #Solidarity with the People of #Palestine. pic.twitter.com/BgsQBAZdis

'-- BLM Grassroots (@blmgrassroots) October 10, 2023Needless to say, they were absolutely hammered on the Twitter machine, with many pointing out how this was BLM telling us who they really are - again.

When people tell you who they are, believe them. #JewishLivesMatter https://t.co/oUjONOV7Dd

'-- Eli Lake (@EliLake) October 10, 2023This should surprise no one. BLM are neo-Marxist, anti-Western civilisation pack of grubs. To post this after Hamas terrorists paraglided into Israel & proceeded to rape, torture & murder civilians tells you EVERYTHING you need to know. https://t.co/MpXedVJrJ3

'-- Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) October 10, 2023'Nuff said.

Related -->> 'Please Stop': Rabbi Shreds 'Friend' Cory Booker's 'I'm in Israel' Video, Betrayal of Jewish Community

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Archived Version

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:03

Green Mountain Power is asking state regulators to let it buy batteries it will install at customers' homes, saying doing so will be cheaper than putting up more power lines.

A Tesla battery in a basement in Williston, Vt. Green Mountain Power proposed buying and installing batteries like it for customers. Credit... Caleb Kenna for The New York Times Many electric utilities are putting up lots of new power lines as they rely more on renewable energy and try to make grids more resilient in bad weather. But a Vermont utility is proposing a very different approach: It wants to install batteries at most homes to make sure its customers never go without electricity.

The company, Green Mountain Power, proposed buying batteries, burying power lines and strengthening overhead cables in a filing with state regulators on Monday. It said its plan would be cheaper than building a lot of new lines and power plants.

The plan is a big departure from how U.S. utilities normally do business. Most of them make money by building and operating power lines that deliver electricity from natural gas power plants or wind and solar farms to homes and businesses. Green Mountain '-- a relatively small utility serving 270,000 homes and businesses '-- would still use that infrastructure but build less of it by investing in television-size batteries that homeowners usually buy on their own.

''Call us the un-utility,'' Mari McClure, Green Mountain's chief executive, said in an interview before the company's filing. ''We're completely flipping the model, decentralizing it.''

Like many places, Vermont has been hit hard this year by extreme weather linked to climate change. Half a dozen severe storms, including major floods in July, have caused power outages and damaged homes and other buildings.

Those calamities and concerns about the rising cost of electricity helped shape Green Mountain's proposal, Ms. McClure said. As the company ran the numbers, it realized that paying recovery costs and building more power lines to improve its system would cost a lot more and take a lot longer than equipping homes with batteries.

Image ''We're completely flipping the model, decentralizing it,'' said Mari McClure, who runs Green Mountain Power. Credit... Oliver Parini for The New York Times Image A homeowner who has a Tesla battery holding a phone app related to home energy use. Credit... Caleb Kenna for The New York Times Green Mountain's plan builds on a program it has run since 2015 to lease Tesla home batteries to customers. Its filing asks the Vermont Public Utility Commission to authorize it to initially spend $280 million to strengthen its grid and buy batteries, which will come from various manufacturers.

The company expects to invest an estimated $1.5 billion over the next seven years '-- money that it would recoup through electricity rates. The utility said the investment was justified by the growing sum it had to spend on storm recovery and to trim and remove trees around its power lines.

The utility said it would continue offering battery leases to customers who want them sooner. It will take until 2030 for the company to install batteries at most homes under its new plan if regulators approve it. Green Mountain says its goal to do away with power outages will be realized by that year, meaning customers would always have enough electricity to use lights, refrigerators and other essentials.

''We don't want the power to be off for our customers ever,'' Ms. McClure said. ''People's lives are on the line. That is ultimately at the heart of why we're doing what we're trying to do.''

Green Mountain would control the batteries, allowing it to program them to soak up energy when wind turbines and solar panels were producing a lot of it. Then, when demand peaked on a hot summer day, say, the batteries could release electricity.

Under the proposal, the company would initially focus on delivering batteries to its most vulnerable customers, putting some power lines underground and installing stronger cables to prevent falling trees from causing outages.

Hurricanes, winter storms and wildfires have highlighted the growing vulnerability of electric grids in recent years. To many people they have also reinforced the importance of quickly shifting away from fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change.

Utilities are spending tens of billions of dollars on strengthening grids and switching to cleaner forms of energy, often with the help of federal and state incentives.

Image Green Mountain would still rely on power lines in its plan but would build fewer of them and bury some. Credit... Caleb Kenna for The New York Times Image A Green Mountain employee, Logan Smith, inside a control room. The utility would program the batteries that it installed at homes to adjust to system demand. Credit... Oliver Parini for The New York Times But critics of the industry say utilities are not being particularly innovative in investing in their systems. Utilities are spending a lot on new long-distance power lines that can take years or even decades to build because of environmental reviews and local opposition.

A May report by the Brattle Group, a research firm based in Boston, concluded that utilities could save up to $35 billion a year if they invested in smaller-scale energy projects like home batteries and rooftop solar panels that can be built more easily and quickly.

Green Mountain's proposal seems to recognize that reality, said Leah Stokes, an associate professor of environmental politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. ''It really is the model, especially if you're worried about power outages,'' she said. ''It really could become the example for the rest of the country.''

Ms. McClure said the high cost of large-scale power projects threatened to raise electricity rates so much that many customers might struggle to pay for energy.

Electricity customers in New England pay about $270 a month, on average, for a home that uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, compared with the national average of about $160, according to the Energy Information Administration. That's the third-highest rate in the country, behind Hawaii and California. Vermont's rates are the lowest in New England but still about 29 percent above the national average.

Electricity rates nationwide increased about 25 percent in the last five years and are expected to continue to rise sharply as utilities seek to strengthen the grid and build new renewable energy projects.

Emily Fisher, executive vice president for clean energy and general counsel at the Edison Electric Institute, a utility trade organization, said Green Mountain's proposal aligns with discussions throughout the industry about ways to respond to climate change and the results of extreme weather.

''I think it's innovative,'' Ms. Fisher said. ''I don't see it as a change in the business model but a way to harness the business model. You're going to have to show that it has systemwide benefit.''

Power outages cost utilities in the United States about $150 billion a year, according to analysts at Sprott, an investment firm. And modernizing U.S. electric grids could cost ''well into the trillions of dollars,'' according to Sprott's estimates.

In addition to the roughly $20 million to $25 million that Green Mountain spends each year on managing trees and other vegetation around its power lines, the utility said, it spent about $55 million on storm recovery this year. It spent an average of less than $10 million a year after storms between 2015 and 2022.

Those kinds of storm recovery costs can increase rates by as much as 7 percent over time because the utility is allowed to recoup that spending from ratepayers.

''If you are leading a utility anywhere in the country you have to get on a path to stop the madness, relative to rates,'' Ms. McClure said.

Ivan Penn is a reporter based in Los Angeles and covers the energy industry. His work has included reporting on clean energy, failures in the electric grid and the economics of utility services. More about Ivan Penn

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Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:25

PHILADELPHIA (AP) '-- Republicans attacked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday as the longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist launched an independent bid for the White House, reflecting growing concerns on the right that the former Democrat now threatens to take votes from former President Donald Trump in 2024.

The Republican National Committee and Trump's campaign both took aim at Kennedy's liberal background while national Democrats stayed silent as Kennedy insisted in a speech in Philadelphia that he was leaving both political parties behind.

''Voters should not be deceived by anyone who pretends to have conservative values,'' said Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung in a statement. He labeled Kennedy's campaign ''nothing more than a vanity project for a liberal Kennedy looking to cash in on his family's name.''

The fiery response exposes the unknowns that lie in Kennedy's long-anticipated decision to run as an independent. The move is likely to impact the 2024 race, which appears to be heading toward a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden , but it's still unclear exactly how.

Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous families in Democratic politics, was running a long-shot primary bid and holds better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. Even Trump just two weeks ago said of Kennedy, ''I like him a lot. I've known him for a long time.''

Allies of both Biden and Trump have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate.

''The truth is, they're both right,'' Kennedy said onstage Monday to roaring applause. ''My intention is to spoil it for both of them.''

Speaking Monday from Philadelphia's Independence Mall, where America's founding documents were adopted, Kennedy made it clear he didn't want to be affiliated with either party. He referenced a ''rising tide of discontent'' in the country. He said he wants to make a ''new declaration of independence'' '-- from corporations, the media and the two major political parties.

Hundreds of supporters who gathered for Kennedy's remarks, holding signs that read ''Declare your independence'' and at times chanting ''RFK, all the way!'' were upbeat about his decision. An eclectic mix of disillusioned Democrats, Trump voters looking for a change, and political outsiders who say their ideas don't square with any one party, they insisted that Kennedy could unify them all.

''He's going to win,'' said Peter Pantazis, a 40-year-old business owner from Lewes, Delaware. ''I've been praying that he's going to decentralize the campaign, get away from the party system and actually be the candidate of the people for the people. And that's what he announced today.''

''The last couple years I've been noticing the Republican Party's been going a way I didn't like,'' said Brent Snyder, a disabled veteran from south Philadelphia. ''Not that I agree with everything that's happening to Trump, but I think right now he has more baggage than his country needs. The division right now is just terrible. We need someone to bring both sides together to make us work.''

Joy, hope and the faint smell of marijuana hovered above the crowd as Kennedy spoke of John Adams' unwavering support for his country and George Washington's prescient warning that partisan politics would result in corruption.

Yet Kennedy's upstart campaign has a long way to go to compete with the funding, support and experience that the Trump and Biden campaigns enjoy. His announcement Monday was delayed briefly when he arrived onstage only to find his speech was loaded upside-down in the teleprompter.

Monday's announcement comes less than a week after the progressive activist Cornel West abandoned his Green Party bid in favor of an independent White House run. Meanwhile, the centrist group No Labels is actively securing ballot access for a yet-to-be-named candidate.

Aware of the risk that Kennedy could pull votes away from Republicans, Trump allies have begun circulating opposition research against Kennedy designed to damage his standing among would-be conservative supporters.

The Republican National Committee published a fact sheet before Kennedy's speech titled ''Radical DEMOCRAT RFK Jr.'' that lists times he supported liberal politicians or ideas. The document also listed times he supported conspiracy theories about COVID-19 or ''stolen-election claims'' related to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections that Democrats lost to President George W. Bush. Trump continues to promote the disproved theory that his loss to Biden was the result of a stolen election.

Biden's allies so far have dismissed Kennedy's primary campaign as unserious. Asked for comment ahead of the announcement, a Democratic National Committee spokesman responded with an eye roll emoji. The DNC declined to comment Monday.

Four of Kennedy's eight surviving siblings put out a joint statement denouncing his candidacy and saying his announcement saddened them.

''The decision of our brother Bobby to run as a third party candidate against Joe Biden is dangerous to our country,'' it read. ''Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment.''

Tony Lyons, co-founder and co-chairman of American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting Kennedy, dismissed those comments as ''part of a strategy to discredit him.''

''At his family dinner tables they would disagree about everything, and that's what democracy looks like,'' Lyons said. ''Families are allowed to disagree.''

While Kennedy has long identified as a Democrat and frequently invokes his late father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail, he has built close relationships with far-right figures in recent years. He appeared on a channel run by the Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Polls show far more Republicans than Democrats have a favorable opinion of Kennedy. He also has gained support from some far-right conservatives for his fringe views, including his vocal distrust of COVID-19 vaccines, which studies have shown are safe and effective against severe disease and death.

Kennedy's anti-vaccine organization, Children's Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

___Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle Smith, and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

___The Associated Press'¯receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here . The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:19

The Irish politician called von der Leyen an "unelected" President and said she does not speak on behalf of the bloc.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen speaks to the media as she arrives at the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 (AP)European Parliamentary Member Clare Daly wrote on Sunday a tweet in response to "unelected" EU President Ursula von der Leyen stating that the latter's stance does not reflect the true voice of the European Union and in no way reflects the bloc's peaceful approach in terms of foreign policy.

"Today, Hamas terrorists have struck at the heart of "Israel" capturing and killing innocent women and children. "Israel" has the right to defend itself - today and in the days to come. The European Union stands with "Israel"," von der Leyen tweeted on X on Saturday.

"Who do you think you are? You're unelected and have no authority to determine EU foreign policy, which is set by the EU Council. Europe does NOT "stand with Israel." We stand for peace. You do not speak for us. If you've nothing constructive to say, and you clearly don't - shut up," Daly wrote in response.

Who do you think you are? You're unelected, and have no authority to determine EU foreign policy, which is set by @EUCouncil. Europe does NOT "stand with Israel." We stand for peace. You do not speak for us. If you've nothing constructive to say, and you clearly don't, shut up. https://t.co/9uEklDIIiE

'-- Clare Daly (@ClareDalyMEP) October 8, 2023Read more: Several International airlines suspend flights to 'Israel'

On Saturday, the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza launched barrages of rockets toward illegal Israeli settlements, including "Bat Yam" and "Rishon LeZiyyon" south of "Tel Aviv".

Mohammad Deif, Commander-in-Chief of al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said that the operation was launched in response to the Israeli occupation's desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as multiple assaults against women in its courtyards.

Later that day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognized that "Israel" is "at war" and that Hamas had initiated "a surprise attack".

This morning, Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson of al-Qassam Brigades, said the Brigades' fighters made considerable advances along the frontlines, and that they are currently engaged in "fierce confrontation in several sites" including "Ofakim", "Sderot", "Yad Mordechai", "Kafar Azza", "Be'eri", "Yated", and "Kissufim".

On another note, Israeli media reported moments ago that the number of Israeli deaths has risen to 600 and the wounded to 2,000, 350 of whom are in a serious, hopeless condition.

The media also said that unofficial estimates indicated that about 750 Israelis are still missing.

Read more: Hamas calls for mobilization among all Palestinian people

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Tue, 10 Oct 2023 17:12

1967 Israeli attack on American navy ship

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship (spy ship), USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats, on 8 June 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two marines, and one civilian NSA employee), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Israel apologized for the attack, saying that the USS Liberty had been attacked in error after being mistaken for an Egyptian ship.[5] Both the Israeli and U.S. governments conducted inquiries and issued reports that concluded the attack was a mistake due to Israeli confusion about the ship's identity.[6] Others, including survivors of the attack, have rejected these conclusions and maintain that the attack was deliberate.[7][8]

In May 1968, the Israeli government paid US$3.32 million (equivalent to US$28 million in 2022) to the U.S. government in compensation for the families of the 34 men killed in the attack. In March 1969, Israel paid a further $3.57 million ($28.5 million in 2022) to the men who had been wounded. In December 1980, it agreed to pay $6 million ($21.3 million in 2022) as the final settlement for material damage to the ship plus 13 years of interest.[9]

USS Liberty USS Liberty was originally the 7,725 long tons (7,849 t) (light) civilian cargo vessel Simmons Victory, a mass-produced, standard-design Victory ship, the follow-on series to the famous Liberty ships that supplied the Allies with cargo during World War II. It was acquired by the United States Navy and converted to an auxiliary technical research ship (AGTR),[10] a cover name for National Security Agency (NSA) "spy ships" carrying out signals intelligence missions. It began its first deployment in 1965, in waters off the west coast of Africa. It carried out several further operations during the next two years.

Attack on the Liberty Events leading to the attack During the Six-Day War between Israel and several Arab nations, the United States of America maintained a neutral country status.[11] Several days before the war began, the USS Liberty was ordered to proceed to the eastern Mediterranean area to perform a signals intelligence collection mission in international waters near the north coast of Sinai, Egypt.[12] After the war erupted, due to concerns about its safety as it approached its patrol area, several messages were sent to Liberty to increase its allowable closest point of approach (CPA) to Egypt's and Israel's coasts from 12.5 and 6.5 nautical miles (14.4 and 7.5 mi; 23.2 and 12.0 km), respectively, to 20 and 15 nautical miles (23 and 17 mi; 37 and 28 km), and then later to 100 nautical miles (120 mi; 190 km) for both countries.[13] Due to ineffective message handling and routing, these messages were not received until after the attack.[13]

According to Israeli sources, at the start of the war on 5 June, General Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Air Force (IAF) chief of staff informed Commander Ernest Carl Castle, the American naval attach(C) in Tel Aviv, that Israel would defend its coast with every means at its disposal, including sinking unidentified ships. He asked the U.S. to keep its ships away from Israel's shore or at least inform Israel of their exact positions.[a]

American sources said that no inquiry about ships in the area was made until after the attack on Liberty. In a message sent from U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk to U.S. Ambassador Walworth Barbour in Tel Aviv, Israel, Rusk asked for "urgent confirmation" of Israel's statement. Barbour responded: "No request for info on U.S. ships operating off Sinai was made until after Liberty incident." Further, Barbour stated: "Had Israelis made such an inquiry it would have been forwarded immediately to the chief of naval operations and other high naval commands and repeated to dept [Department of State]."[15]

With the outbreak of war, Captain William L. McGonagle of Liberty immediately asked Vice Admiral William I. Martin at the United States Sixth Fleet headquarters to send a destroyer to accompany Liberty and serve as its armed escort and as an auxiliary communications center. The following day, Admiral Martin replied: "Liberty is a clearly marked United States ship in international waters, not a participant in the conflict and not a reasonable subject for attack by any nation. Request denied."[16] He promised, however, that in the unlikely event of an inadvertent attack, jet fighters from the Sixth Fleet would be overhead in ten minutes.

Meanwhile, at the United Nations on 6 June, U.S. Ambassador Arthur Goldberg told the United Nations Security Council that vessels of the Sixth Fleet were several hundred miles from the conflict, in response to Egyptian complaints that the United States was supporting Israel in the conflict.[13] When this statement was made, it was in fact true; Liberty, now assigned to the Sixth Fleet, was in the central Mediterranean Sea, passing between Libya and Crete.[17] It would ultimately steam to about 13 nmi (15 mi; 24 km) north of the Sinai Peninsula.[18]

On the night of 7 June Washington time, early morning on 8 June, 01:10 Zulu or 3:10 a.m. local time, the Pentagon issued an order to Sixth Fleet headquarters to tell Liberty to come no closer than 100 nautical miles (120 mi; 190 km) to Israel, Syria, or the Sinai coast (Oren, p. 263).[19]:'Š5,'Š58 (Exhibit N)'Š According to the Naval Court of Inquiry[20]:'Š23 ff,'Š111 ff'Š and the National Security Agency official history,[21] the order to withdraw was not sent on the radio frequency that Liberty monitored for her orders until 15:25 Zulu, several hours after the attack, due to a long series of administrative and message routing problems. The Navy said a large volume of unrelated high-precedence traffic, including intelligence intercepts related to the conflict, were being handled at the time; and that this combined with a shortage of qualified radiomen contributed to the delayed transmission of the withdrawal message.[20]:'Š111 ff'Š

Visual contact Official testimony combined with Liberty ' s deck log establish that throughout the morning of the attack, 8 June, the ship was overflown, at various times and locations, by IAF aircraft.[18] The primary aircraft type was the Nord Noratlas; there were also two unidentified delta-wing jets at about 9:00 a.m. Sinai time (GMT+2).[18] Liberty crewmembers say that one of the Noratlas aircraft flew so close to Liberty that noise from its propellers rattled the ship's deck plating, and that the pilots and crewmembers waved to each other.[22] It was later reported, based on information from IDF sources, that the over-flights were coincidental, and that the aircraft were hunting for Egyptian submarines that had been spotted near the coast.

At about 5:45 a.m. Sinai time, a ship-sighting report was received at Israeli Central Coastal Command (CCC) in respect of Liberty, identified by an aerial naval observer as "apparently a destroyer, sailing 70 miles [110 km] west of Gaza".[23] The vessel's location was marked on a CCC control table, using a red marker, indicating an unidentified vessel.[24] At about 6:00 a.m., the aerial naval observer, Major Uri Meretz, reported that the ship appeared to be a U.S. Navy supply ship; at about 9:00 a.m. the red marker was replaced with a green marker to indicate a neutral vessel.[24] About the same time, an Israeli jet fighter pilot reported that a ship 20 miles (32 km) north of Arish had fired at his aircraft after he tried to identify the vessel.[24] Israeli naval command dispatched two destroyers to investigate, but they were returned to their previous positions at 9:40 a.m. after doubts emerged during the pilot's debriefing.[24] After the naval observer's Noratlas landed and he was debriefed, the ship he saw was further identified as the USS Liberty, based on its "GTR-5" hull markings.[25] USS Liberty's marker was removed from CCC's Control Table at 11:00 a.m., due to its positional information being considered out of date.[26]

At 11:24 a.m., the Israeli chief of naval operations received a report that Arish was being shelled from the sea.[26] An inquiry into the source of the report was ordered to determine its validity.[26] The report came from an air support officer in Arish.[27] Additionally, at 11:27 a.m. the Israeli Supreme Command head of operations received a report stating that a ship had been shelling Arish, but the shells had fallen short.[27] (The investigative journalist James Bamford points out that Liberty had only four .50 caliber machine guns mounted on her decks and thus could not have shelled the coast.[28]) The Head of Operations ordered that the report be verified, and that it be determined whether or not Israeli Navy vessels were off the coast of Arish.[27] At 11:45 a.m., another report arrived at Supreme Command saying two ships were approaching the Arish coast.[27]

Israeli Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) in formation, c. 1967. These were the MTBs that attacked USS Liberty.The shelling and ship reports were passed from Supreme Command to Fleet Operations control center.[27] The Chief of Naval Operations took them seriously, and at 12:05 p.m. torpedo boat Division 914 was ordered to patrol in the direction of Arish.[27] Division 914, codenamed "Pagoda", was under the command of Commander Moshe Oren.[27] It consisted of three torpedo boats numbered: T-203, T-204 and T-206.[27] At 12:15 p.m., Division 914 received orders to patrol a position 20 miles (32 km) north of Arish.[27] As Commander Oren headed toward Arish, he was informed by Naval Operations of the reported shelling of Arish and told that IAF aircraft would be dispatched to the area after the target had been detected.[27] Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin was concerned that the supposed Egyptian shelling was the prelude to an amphibious landing that could outflank Israeli forces. Rabin reiterated the standing order to sink any unidentified ships in the area, but advised caution, as Soviet vessels were reportedly operating nearby. At 1:41 p.m., the torpedo boats detected an unknown vessel 20 miles northwest of Arish and 14 miles (23 km) off the coast of Bardawil.[1][29] The ship's speed was estimated on their radars.[29] The combat information center officer on T-204, Ensign Aharon Yifrah, reported to Oren that the target had been detected at a range of 22 miles (35 km), that her speed had been tracked for a few minutes, after which he had determined that the target was moving westward at a speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). These data were forwarded to the Fleet Operations control center.[29]

The speed of the target was significant because it indicated that the target was a combat vessel.[29] Moreover, Israeli forces had standing orders to fire on any unknown vessels sailing in the area at over 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), a speed which, at the time, could be attained only by warships. The Chief of Naval Operations asked the torpedo boats to double-check their calculations. Yifrah twice recalculated and confirmed his assessment.[29] A few minutes later, Commander Oren reported that the target, now 17 miles (27 km) from his position, was moving at a speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) on a different heading.[30] Bamford, however, points out that Liberty ' s top speed was far below 28 knots. His sources say that at the time of the attack Liberty was following her signal-intercept mission course along the northern Sinai coast, at about 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) speed.[28]

The data on the ship's speed, together with its direction, gave the impression that it was an Egyptian destroyer fleeing toward port after shelling Arish. The torpedo boats gave chase, but did not expect to overtake their target before it reached Egypt. Commander Oren requested that the Israeli Air Force dispatch aircraft to intercept.[29] At 1:48 p.m., the Chief of Naval Operations requested dispatch of fighter aircraft to the ship's location.[31]

Hunt-class destroyer HMS Blean. The Egyptian Navy had Hunt-class destroyers in 1967.The IAF dispatched a flight of two Mirage III fighter jets codenamed Kursa flight which arrived at Liberty at about 2:00 p.m.[32] The formation leader, Captain Iftach Spector, attempted to identify the ship.[32] He radioed to one of the torpedo boats his observation that the ship looked like a military ship with one smokestack and one mast.[33] He also communicated, in effect, that the ship appeared to him like a destroyer or another type of small ship.[33] In a post-attack statement, the pilots said they saw no distinguishable markings or flag on the ship.[33]

At this point, a recorded exchange took place between a command headquarters weapons systems officer, one of the air controllers, and the chief air controller questioning a possible American presence. Immediately after the exchange, at 1:57 p.m., the chief air controller, Lieutenant-Colonel Shmuel Kislev, cleared the Mirages to attack.[34]

Air and sea attacks After being cleared to attack, the Mirages dove on the ship and attacked with 30-mm cannons and rockets.[35] The attack came a few minutes after the crew completed a chemical attack drill, with Captain McGonagle on the command bridge.[36] The crew was in "stand-down mode", with their helmets and life jackets removed.[37] Battle readiness "modified condition three" was set, which meant that the ship's four .50 caliber machine guns were manned and ammunition was ready for loading and firing.[38][39] Eight crewmen either were killed immediately or received fatal injuries and died later, and 75 were wounded.[40] Among the wounded was McGonagle, who was hit in the right thigh and arm.[41] During the attack, antennas were severed, gas drums caught fire, and the ship's flag was knocked down. McGonagle sent an urgent request for help to the Sixth Fleet, "Under attack by unidentified jet aircraft, require immediate assistance".

The Mirages left after expending their ammunition, and were replaced by a flight of two Dassault Super Myst¨res codenamed Royal flight. The Mysteres were armed with napalm bombs, and were flown by Captain Yossi Zuk and his wingman, Yaakov Hamermish. The Mysteres released their payloads over the ship and strafed it with their cannons. Much of the ship's superstructure caught fire.[32] The Mysteres were readying to attack again when the Israeli Navy, alerted by the absence of return fire, warned Kislev that the target could be Israeli. Kislev told the pilots not to attack if there was any doubt about identification, and the Israeli Navy quickly contacted all of its vessels in the area. The Israeli Navy found that none of its vessels were under fire, and the aircraft were cleared to attack. However, Kislev was still disturbed by a lack of return fire and requested one last attempt to identify the ship. Captain Zuk made an attempt at identification while strafing the ship. He reported seeing no flag, but saw the ship's GTR-5 marking. Kislev immediately ordered the attack stopped. Kislev guessed that the ship was American.

The fact that the ship had Latin alphabet markings led Chief of Staff Rabin to fear that the ship was Soviet. Though Egyptian warships were known to disguise their identities with Western markings, they usually displayed Arabic letters and numbers only. Rabin ordered the torpedo boats to remain at a safe distance from the ship, and sent in two A(C)rospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon helicopters to search for survivors. These radio communications were recorded by Israel. The order was also recorded in the torpedo boat's log, although Commander Oren claimed not to have received it. The order to cease fire was given at 2:20 p.m., twenty-four minutes before the torpedo boats arrived at the Liberty ' s position.[b]

During the interval, crewmen aboard Liberty hoisted a large American flag. During the early part of the air attack and before the torpedo boats were sighted, Liberty sent a distress message that was received by Sixth Fleet aircraft carrier USS Saratoga.[40] Aircraft carrier USS America dispatched eight aircraft. The carrier had been in the middle of strategic exercises. Vice-Admiral William I. Martin recalled the aircraft minutes later.

McGonagle testified at the naval court of inquiry that during

the latter moments of the air attack, it was noted that three high speed boats were approaching the ship from the northeast on a relative bearing of approximately 135 [degrees] at a distance of about 15 [nautical] miles. The ship at the time was still on [westward] course 283 [degrees] true, speed unknown, but believed to be in excess of five knots.[20]:'Š38'Š

McGonagle testified that he "believed that the time of initial sighting of the torpedo boats ... was about 14:20", and that the "boats appeared to be in a wedge type formation with the center boat the lead point of the wedge. Estimated speed of the boats was about 27 to 30 knots [50 to 56 km/h]", and that it "appeared that they were approaching the ship in a torpedo launch attitude".[20]:'Š38'Š

When the torpedo boats arrived, Commander Oren could see that the ship could not be the destroyer that had supposedly shelled Arish or any ship capable of 30 knots (56 km/h) speed. According to Michael Limor, an Israeli naval reservist serving on one of the torpedo boats, they attempted to contact the ship by heliograph and radio, but received no response.[42] At 6,000 meters (20,000 ft), T-204 paused and signalled "AA", which means "identify yourself".[citation needed ] Due to damaged equipment, McGonagle could only reply using a handheld Aldis lamp.[citation needed ] Oren recalled receiving a similar response from the Ibrahim el Awal, an Egyptian destroyer captured by Israel during the Suez Crisis, and was convinced that he was facing an enemy ship.[citation needed ] He consulted an Israeli identification guide to Arab fleets and concluded the ship was the Egyptian supply ship El Quseir, based on observing its deckline, midship bridge and smokestack. The captain of boat T-203 reached the same conclusion independently. The boats moved into battle formation, but did not attack.[44]

Liberty turns to evade Israeli torpedo boatsAs the torpedo boats rapidly approached, Captain McGonagle ordered a sailor to proceed to machine gun Mount 51 and open fire.[20]:'Š38'Š However, he then noticed that the boats appeared to be flying an Israeli flag, and "realized that there was a possibility of the aircraft having been Israeli and the attack had been conducted in error".[20]:'Š39'Š Captain McGonagle ordered the man at gun mount 51 to hold fire, but a short burst was fired at the torpedo boats before the man understood the order.[20]:'Š39'Š

McGonagle observed that machine gun Mount 53 began firing at the center torpedo boat at about the same time gun mount 51 fired, and that its fire was "extremely effective and blanketed the area and the center torpedo boat".[20]:'Š39'Š Machine gun mount 53 was located on the starboard amidships side, behind the pilot house.[20]:'Š16'Š McGonagle could not see or "get to mount 53 from the starboard wing of the bridge".[20]:'Š39'Š So, he "sent Mr. Lucas around the port side of the bridge, around to the skylights, to see if he could tell [Seaman] Quintero, whom [he] believed to be the gunner on Machine gun 53, to hold fire".[20]:'Š39'Š Ensign Lucas "reported back in a few minutes in effect that he saw no one at mount 53".[20]:'Š39'Š Lucas, who had left the command bridge during the air attack and returned to assist Captain McGonagle,[20]:'Š14'Š believed that the sound of gunfire was likely from ammunition cooking off, due to a nearby fire.[20]:'Š16'Š Previously, Lucas had granted a request from Quintero to fire at the torpedo boats, before heat from a nearby fire chased him from gun mount 53.[20]:'Š26,'Š27'Š McGonagle later testified, at the Court of Inquiry, that this was likely the "extremely effective" firing event he had observed.[20]:'Š49'Š

After coming under fire, the torpedo boats returned fire with their cannons, killing Liberty's helmsman.[45] The torpedo boats then launched five torpedoes at the Liberty.[46] At 1235Z (2:35 local time)[45] one torpedo hit Liberty on the starboard side forward of the superstructure, creating a 39 ft (12 m) wide hole in what had been a cargo hold converted to the ship's research spaces and killing 25 servicemen, almost all of them from the intelligence section, and wounding dozens.[45] It has been said the torpedo hit a major hull frame that absorbed much of the energy; crew members reported that if the torpedo had missed the frame the Liberty would have split in two. The other four torpedoes missed the ship.[citation needed ]

The torpedo boats then closed in and strafed the ship's hull with their cannons and machine guns.[citation needed ] According to some crewmen, the torpedo boats fired at damage control parties and sailors preparing life rafts for launch. (See disputed details below.) A life raft which floated from the ship was picked up by T-203 and found to bear U.S. Navy markings. T-204 then circled Liberty, and Oren spotted the designation GTR-5, but saw no flag.[citation needed ] It took until 3:30 p.m. to establish the ship's identity. Shortly before the Liberty ' s identity was confirmed, the Saratoga launched eight aircraft armed with conventional weapons towards Liberty. After the ship's identity was confirmed, the General Staff was notified and an apology was sent to naval attach(C) Castle. The aircraft approaching Liberty were recalled to the Saratoga.

Aftermath of the attack The 6th Fleet flagship, USS Little Rock standing by LibertyUSS LIBERTY MemorialArlington National CemeteryAccording to transcripts of intercepted radio communications, published by the U.S. National Security Agency, at about 2:30 p.m., near the beginning of the torpedo boat attack, two IAF helicopters were dispatched to Liberty ' s location. The helicopters arrived at about 3:10 p.m., about 35 minutes after the torpedo hit the ship. After arriving, one of the helicopter pilots was asked by his ground-based controller to verify that the ship was flying an American flag. The helicopters conducted a brief search for crew members of the ship who might have fallen overboard during the air attack. No one was found. The helicopters left the ship at about 3:20 p.m.

At about 4 p.m., two hours after the attack began, Israel informed the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv that its military forces had mistakenly attacked a U.S. Navy ship. When the ship was "confirmed to be American" the torpedo boats returned at about 4:40 p.m. to offer help;[47] it was refused by the Liberty. Later, Israel provided a helicopter to fly U.S. naval attach(C) Commander Castle to the ship.[48] (pp. 32, 34)

In Washington, President Lyndon B. Johnson had received word from the Joint Chiefs of Staff that Liberty had been torpedoed by an unknown vessel at 9:50 a.m. eastern time. Johnson assumed that the Soviets were involved, and hotlined Moscow with news of the attack and the dispatch of jets from Saratoga. He chose not to make any public statements and delegated this task to Phil G. Goulding, who was an assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the time.[49] Soon afterward, the Israelis said that they had mistakenly attacked the ship. The Johnson administration conveyed "strong dismay" to Israeli ambassador Avraham Harman. Meanwhile, apologies were soon sent by Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, Foreign Minister Abba Eban, and charg(C) d'affaires Ephraim Evron. Within 48 hours, Israel offered to compensate the victims and their families.

Though Liberty was severely damaged, with a 39 ft wide by 24 ft high (12 m — 7.3 m) hole and a twisted keel, her crew kept her afloat, and she was able to leave the area under her own power. Liberty was later met by the destroyers USS Davis and USS Massey, and the cruiser USS Little Rock. Medical personnel were transferred to Liberty, and she was escorted to Malta, where she was given interim repairs. After these were completed in July 1967, Liberty returned to the U.S. She was decommissioned in June 1968 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. Liberty was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) in December 1970 and sold for scrap in 1973.

From the start, the response to Israeli statements of mistaken identity ranged between frank disbelief to unquestioning acceptance within the administration in Washington. A communication to the Israeli ambassador on 10 June, by Secretary Rusk stated, among other things:

At the time of the attack, the USS Liberty was flying the American flag and its identification was clearly indicated in large white letters and numerals on its hull. ... Experience demonstrates that both the flag and the identification number of the vessel were readily visible from the air ... Accordingly, there is every reason to believe that the USS Liberty was identified, or at least her nationality determined, by Israeli aircraft approximately one hour before the attack. ... The subsequent attack by the torpedo boats, substantially after the vessel was or should have been identified by Israeli military forces, manifests the same reckless disregard for human life.[50][51]

Commemorative plaque in the Israeli Clandestine Naval Museum[c]George Lenczowski notes: "It was significant that, in contrast to his secretary of state, President Johnson fully accepted the Israeli version of the tragic incident." He notes that Johnson himself included only one small paragraph about the Liberty in his autobiography,[52] in which he accepted the Israeli explanation, minimized the affair and distorted the number of dead and wounded, by lowering them from 34 to 10 and 171 to 100, respectively. Lenczowski further states: "It seems Johnson was more interested in avoiding a possible confrontation with the Soviet Union, ... than in restraining Israel."

McGonagle received the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. medal, for his actions.[54][55] The Medal of Honor is generally presented by the president of the United States in the White House,[55][56] but this time it was awarded at the Washington Navy Yard by the Secretary of the Navy in an unpublicized ceremony.[55] Other Liberty sailors received decorations for their actions during and after the attack, but most of the award citations omitted mention of Israel as the perpetrator. In 2009, however, a Silver Star was awarded to crewmember Terry Halbardier, who braved machine-gun and cannon fire to repair a damaged antenna that restored the ship's communication; in his award citation Israel was named as the attacker.[57]

U.S. government investigations The Court produced evidence that the Israeli armed forces had ample opportunity to identify LIBERTY correctly. The Court had insufficient information before it to make a judgment on the reasons for the decision by Israeli aircraft and motor torpedo boats to attack ... It was not the responsibility of the Court to rule on the culpability of the attackers, and no evidence was heard from the attacking nation.

Torpedo damage to Liberty's research compartment (Starboard side)American inquiries, memoranda, records of testimony, and various reports involving or mentioning the Liberty attack include, but are not limited to, the following:

U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry[58] of June 1967Joint Chief of Staff's Report[59] of June 1967CIA Intelligence Memorandums[60] of June 1967Clark Clifford Report[61] of July 1967Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony during hearings of the 1967 Foreign Aid Authorization bill, July 1967[62]House Armed Services Committee Investigation of 1971[63]The NSA History Report[64] of 1981The U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry record contains testimony by Liberty crew members, exhibits of attack damage photographs, and various reports.[65] The court concluded that the testimony record revealed "a shallow investigation, plagued by myriad disagreements between the captain and his crew".[66] According to the Navy Court of Inquiry's record of proceedings, four days were spent hearing testimony: two days for fourteen survivors of the attack and several U.S. Navy expert witnesses, and two partial days for two expert U.S. Navy witnesses.[67] No testimony was heard from Israeli personnel involved.[67][68][better source needed ]

The official U.S. records of the Liberty incident were designated top-secret and closed to the general public.[68] The U.S. government and Israel jointly stated: "That the Israeli attack upon the USS Liberty had been the result of error, and nothing more."[68] Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the Liberty incident, said that he, "cannot accept the claim by the Israelis that this was a case of mistaken identity".[68]

The CIA Memoranda consists of two documents: one dated June 13, 1967, and the other dated June 21, 1967. The June 13 memorandum is an "account of circumstances of the attack ... compiled from all available sources".[69] The June 21 memorandum is a point-by-point analysis of the Israeli inquiry findings of fact.[69] It concludes: "The attack was not made in malice toward the U.S. and was by mistake, but the failure of the IDF Headquarters and the attacking aircraft to identify the Liberty and the subsequent attack by torpedo boats were both incongruous and indicative of gross negligence."[69]

The Clark Clifford report concluded: "The unprovoked attack on the Liberty constitutes a flagrant act of gross negligence for which the Israeli Government should be held completely responsible, and the Israeli military personnel involved should be punished."[68]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony contains, as an aside during hearings concerning a foreign aid authorization bill, questions and statements from several senators and responses from then Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, about the Liberty attack. For the most part, the senators were dismayed about the attack, as expressed by Senator Bourke B. Hickenlooper: "From what I have read I can't tolerate for one minute that this [attack] was an accident." There was concern about obtaining more information on the attack, as expressed by Committee chairman J. William Fulbright: "We asked for [the attack investigation report] about two weeks ago and have not received it yet from Secretary Rusk. ... By the time we get to it we will be on some other subject." Secretary McNamara promised fast delivery of the investigation report, "... you will have it in four hours", and concluded his remarks by saying: "I simply want to emphasize that the investigative report does not show any evidence of a conscious intent to attack a U.S. vessel."[70]

The House Armed Services Committee investigation report, "Review of Department of Defense Worldwide Communications"[71] was not an investigation focused on the Liberty attack, although it contains a section describing the flow of communications connected with the Liberty incident.[71]

The National Security Agency (NSA) history report on the event included declassified documents which stated: "Every official interview of numerous Liberty crewmen gave consistent evidence that indeed the Liberty was flying an American flag'--and, further, the weather conditions were ideal to ensure its easy observance and identification."[72]

The USS Liberty Veterans Association, composed of veterans from the ship, states that U.S. congressional investigations and other U.S. investigations were not actually investigations into the attack, but rather reports using evidence only from the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry, or investigations unrelated to culpability that involved issues such as communications.[68] In their view, the U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry is the only actual investigation on the incident to date.[67] They say it was hastily conducted, in only ten days, even though the court's president, Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, said that it would take six months to conduct properly.[67] The inquiry's terms of reference were limited to whether any shortcomings on the part of the Liberty ' s crew had contributed to the injuries and deaths that resulted from the attack.[67]

Michael Oren (a former Israeli ambassador to the United States) contends that "the United States National Archives contain no evidence to suggest that information obtained by the Liberty augmented Washington's already detailed picture of events on the Golan front and of Israel's intentions there."[68]

Israeli government investigations According to an Israel Foreign Ministry letter to the Israeli Embassy in Washington:

In the grave situation that has been created, the only way to soften the result is for us to be able to announce to the U.S. government already today that we intend to prosecute people for this disaster. We have to publicize that in Israel already tonight. ... it is crucial that our announcement about prosecuting those who are to blame be publicized before '' I repeat, before '' the publication of the American report here.[73]

Two subsequent Israeli inquiry reports and a historical report concluded the attack was conducted because Liberty was confused with an Egyptian vessel and because of failures in communications between Israel and the U.S. The three Israeli reports were:[68]

Fact Finding Inquiry by Colonel Ram Ron ("Ram Ron Report"'--June 1967)[74]Preliminary Inquiry (Hearing) by Examining Judge Yeshayahu Yerushalmi ("Yerushalmi Report"'--July 1967)[75] (Adjudication of IDF negligence complaints.)Historical Report "The Liberty Incident"'--IDF History Department report (1982)[76]In the historical report, it was acknowledged that IDF naval headquarters knew at least three hours before the attack that the ship was "an electromagnetic audio-surveillance ship of the U.S. Navy" but concluded that this information had simply "gotten lost, never passed along to the ground controllers who directed the air attack nor to the crews of the three Israeli torpedo boats".[76]

The Israeli government said that three crucial errors were made: the refreshing of the status board (removing the ship's classification as American, so that the later shift did not see it identified), the erroneous identification of the ship as an Egyptian vessel, and the lack of notification from the returning aircraft informing Israeli headquarters of markings on the front of the hull (markings that would not be found on an Egyptian ship). As a common root of these problems, Israel blamed the combination of alarm and fatigue experienced by the Israeli forces at that point of the war when pilots were severely overworked.[72][76]

After conducting his own fact-finding inquiry and reviewing evidence, Judge Yerushalmi's decision was: "I have not discovered any deviation from the standard of reasonable conduct which would justify committal of anyone for trial." In other words, he found no negligence by any IDF member associated with the attack.[65]

Ongoing controversy and unresolved questions Some intelligence and military officials dispute Israel's explanation.[77] Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State at the time of the incident, wrote:

I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous.[78]

Retired naval Lieutenant Commander James Ennes, a junior officer (and off-going Officer of the Deck) on Liberty ' s bridge at the time of the attack, authored a book titled Assault on the Liberty describing the incident and saying, among other things, that the attack was deliberate.[79] Ennes and Joe Meadors, also a survivor of the attack, run a website about the incident.[80] Meadors states that the classification of the attack as deliberate is the official policy of the USS Liberty Veterans Association,[81] to which survivors and other former crew members belong. Other survivors run several additional websites. Citing Ennes's book, Lenczowski notes: Liberty ' s personnel received firm orders not to say anything to anybody about the attack, and the naval inquiry was conducted in such a way as to earn it the name of "coverup".

In 2002, Captain Ward Boston, JAGC, U.S. Navy, senior counsel for the Court of Inquiry, said that the Court of Inquiry's findings were intended to cover up what was a deliberate attack by Israel on a ship that the Israelis knew to be American. In 2004, in response to the publication of A. Jay Cristol's book The Liberty Incident, which Boston said was an "insidious attempt to whitewash the facts", Boston prepared and signed an affidavit in which he said that Admiral Kidd had told him that the government ordered Kidd to falsely report that the attack was a mistake, and that Boston and Kidd both believed the attack was deliberate.[82] Cristol wrote about Boston's professional qualifications and integrity, on page 149 of his book:

Boston brought two special assets in addition to his skill as a Navy lawyer. He had been a naval aviator in World War II and therefore had insight beyond that of one qualified only in the law. Also, Kidd knew him as a man of integrity. On an earlier matter Boston had been willing to bump heads with Kidd when Boston felt it was more important to do the right thing than to curry favor with the senior who would write his fitness report.

'--'ŠA. Jay Cristol, The Liberty Incident

Cristol said he believes that Boston is not telling the truth about Kidd's views and any pressure from the U.S. government.[83] Cristol, who also served as an officer of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General, suggests that Boston was responsible in part for the original conclusions of the Court of Inquiry and, that by later declaring that they were false, Boston has admitted to "lying under oath". Cristol also notes that Boston's statements about pressure on Kidd were hearsay, and that Kidd was not alive to confirm or deny them and that Boston did not maintain, prior to his affidavit and comments related to it, that Kidd spoke of such instructions to Boston or to others. Cristol also provides a handwritten 1991 letter from Admiral Kidd[84] that, according to Cristol, "suggest that Ward Boston has either a faulty memory or a vivid imagination". According to James Ennes, however, Admiral Kidd urged Ennes and his group to keep pressing for an open congressional probe.[85]

The following arguments, found in official reports or other sources, were published to support the hypothesis that the attack was due to mistaken identity:

Accidents and mistakes do occur in wartime. Journalist Ze'ev Schiff gave an example of a friendly fire incident where Israeli aircraft had bombed an Israeli armored column south of the West Bank town of Jenin the day before the attack on the Liberty.[86] Also given as an example was a similar incident that took place during the Suez Crisis in 1956, when Israeli aircraft attacked and damaged the British frigate HMS Crane after mistaking it for an Egyptian warship, at a time when Britain and Israel were fighting together.[87]The incident took place during the Six-Day War when Israel was engaged in battles with two Arab countries and preparing to attack a third, creating an environment where mistakes and confusion were prevalent. For example, at 11:45, a few hours before the attack, there was a large explosion on the shores of El-Arish followed by black smoke, probably caused by the destruction of an ammunition dump by retreating Egyptian forces. The Israeli army thought the area was being bombarded, and that an unidentified ship offshore was responsible.As the torpedo boats approached, Liberty opened fire on them. McGonagle said that he felt sure the torpedo boat captains believed they were under fire from the Liberty. Ensign Lucas, testified that he gave permission for the firing of the 03 level machine gun after the torpedo boats began firing at Liberty. Later, when the gun was unmanned, heat from a nearby fire apparently caused machine gun rounds at the gun to explode.[20]Admiral Shlomo Erell, head of the Israeli Navy in 1967, stated that no successful argument of benefit has been presented for Israel purposely attacking an American warship, especially considering the high cost of predictable complications that would follow an attack on a powerful ally. He also pointed out that Israel notified the American embassy immediately after the attack.[88]Amidships starboard hull and superstructure attack damageSeveral books and the BBC documentary USS Liberty: Dead in the Water argued that Liberty was attacked in order to prevent the U.S. from knowing about the forthcoming attack in the Golan Heights, which would violate a cease-fire to which Israel's government had agreed.[89] However, Syria did not accept the cease fire until 9 June, after the attack on Liberty.[90] Russian author Joseph Daichman, in his book History of the Mossad, states Israel was justified in attacking the Liberty.[91] Israel knew that American radio signals were intercepted by the Soviet Union and that the Soviets would certainly inform Egypt of the fact that, by moving troops to the Golan Heights, Israel had left the Egyptian border undefended.[92]

Lenczowski notes that while the Israeli decision to "attack and destroy" the ship "may appear puzzling", the explanation seems to be found in Liberty ' s nature and its task to monitor communications from both sides in the war zone. He writes that timely knowledge of their decision to invade Syria and preparatory moves toward it "might have frustrated Israeli designs for the conquest of Syria's Golan Heights" and, in the sense of Ennes's accusations, provides "a plausible thesis that Israel deliberately decided to incapacitate the signals-collecting American ship and leave no one alive to tell the story of the attack".

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Barbour, had reported on the day of the Liberty attack that he "would not be surprised" by an Israeli attack on Syria, and the IDF Intelligence chief told a White House aide then in Israel that "there still remained the Syria problem and perhaps it would be necessary to give Syria a blow".[94]

The 1981 book Weapons by Russell Warren Howe says that Liberty was accompanied by the Polaris ballistic missile-armed Lafayette-class submarine USS Andrew Jackson, which filmed the entire episode through its periscope but was unable to provide assistance.[d]

James Bamford, a former ABC News producer, says in his 2001 book Body of Secrets,[95] that Israel deliberately attacked Liberty to prevent the discovery of what he described as war crimes, including the killing of Egyptian prisoners of war by the IDF that he alleges was taking place around the same time in the nearby town of El-Arish.[96] However, according to CAMERA, his claim that 400 Egyptians were executed has been cast into doubt since reporters present in the town claimed that there had been a large battle and this was the main cause of casualties.[97] Bamford also stated that eyewitness Gabi Bron had claimed he saw 150 people executed by Israeli troops at El-Arish.[95] However, Gabi Bron claimed to have only seen 5 people executed by Israeli troops.[98][99]

The press release for the BBC documentary film Dead in the Water states that new recorded and other evidence suggests the attack was a "daring ploy by Israel to fake an Egyptian attack" to give America a reason to enter the war against Egypt. It claimed that President Lyndon B. Johnson launched allegedly nuclear-armed aircraft targeted against Cairo from a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. The aircraft were recalled only just in time, when it was clear the Liberty had not been sunk and that Israel had carried out the attack. An information source for the aircraft being nuclear-armed, James Ennes later stated:

It is clear that I was mistaken about the aircraft involved, as F4s do not carry nuclear weapons. Others tell me that the aircraft that were launched carried Bullpup missiles, which might easily be mistaken for nuclear bombs. And we learned much later that the USS America was involved in a nuclear weapons loading drill at the very time the ship learned of the attack on the Liberty and that this drill is one factor that delayed America's response to our call for help. It is also possible that those were the weapons seen by our sources.Also confusing this issue is an oral history report from the American Embassy in Cairo, now in the LBJ Library, which notes that the Embassy received an urgent message from Washington warning that Cairo was about to be bombed by U.S. forces, presumably in mistaken retaliation for the USS Liberty attack. That strange message was never explained or cancelled.[100]

The video also reports hearsay of a covert alliance of U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies.[101]

Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a critic of the official United States Government version of events, chaired a non-governmental investigation into the attack on the Liberty in 2003. The committee, which included former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia James E. Akins, found Israel to be culpable and suggested several theories for Israel's possible motives, including the desire to blame Egypt and so bring the U.S. into the Six-Day War.[102]

According to John Loftus and Mark Aarons in their book, The Secret War Against the Jews, Liberty was attacked because the Israelis knew that the ship's mission was to monitor radio signals from Israeli troops and pass troop movement information to the Egyptians.[103][unreliable source? ]

NSA tapes and subsequent developments The NSA reported that there had been no radio intercepts of the attack made by the Liberty herself, nor had there been any radio intercepts made by the U.S. submarine USS Amberjack. Within an hour of learning that the Liberty had been torpedoed, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, LTG Marshall S. Carter, sent a message to all intercept sites requesting a search of communications that might be connected to the attack or any reaction to it. The only such communication reported was intercepted by a U.S. Navy EC-121 aircraft that flew near the attacks from 2:30 p.m. to 3:27 p.m., Sinai time (1230 to 1327 Z); it had collected voice conversations between two Israeli helicopter pilots and the control tower at Hatzor Airfield following the attack on the Liberty.[104]

On 2 July 2003, the NSA released copies of these recordings and their translations and summaries.[105] These revelations were elicited as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Florida bankruptcy judge and retired naval aviator Jay Cristol. Two linguists who were aboard the EC-121 when the recordings were made said separately that at least two additional tapes were made that had been withheld.[7] English language translations of the released tapes indicate that the Israelis spoke of hitting an Egyptian supply ship even after the end of attack.[106][107] The rescue helicopters relayed urgent requests that the rescuers ask the first survivor pulled out of the water what his nationality is; there was discussion as to whether the survivors would speak Arabic.[108]

A summary of the NSA-translated tapes[109] indicates that at 1234Z Hatzor air control began directing two Israeli Air Force helicopters to an Egyptian warship, to rescue its crew: "This ship has now been identified as Egyptian." The helicopters arrived near the ship at about 1303Z: "I see a big vessel, near it are three small vessels ..." At 1308Z, Hatzor air control indicated concern about the nationality of the ship's crew: "The first matter to clarify is to find out what their nationality is." At 1310Z, one of the helicopter pilots asked the nearby torpedo boats' Division Commander about the meaning of the ship's hull number: "GTR5 is written on it. Does this mean something?" The response was: "Negative, it doesn't mean anything." At 1312Z, one of the helicopter pilots was asked by air control: "Did you clearly identify an American flag?" No answer appears in the transcript, but the air controller then says: "We request that you make another pass and check once more if this is really an American flag." Again, no response appears in the transcript. At about 1314Z, the helicopters were directed to return home.

On 10 October 2003, The Jerusalem Post ran an interview with Yiftah Spector, one of the pilots who participated in the attack.[110] Spector said the ship was assumed to be Egyptian, stating that: "there was positively no flag". The interview also contains the transcripts of the Israeli communications about the Liberty. However, the journalist who transcribed the tapes for that article, Arieh O'Sullivan, later confirmed that "the Israeli Air Force tapes he listened to contained blank spaces".[7] The Liberty ' s survivors contradict Spector. According to subsequently declassified NSA documents: "Every official interview of numerous Liberty crewmen gave consistent evidence that the Liberty was flying an American flag'--and, further, the weather conditions were ideal to ensure its easy observance and identification."

On 8 June 2005, the USS Liberty Veterans Association filed a "Report of War Crimes Committed Against the U.S. Military, June 8, 1967" with the Department of Defense (DoD). They say Department of Defense Directive 2311.01E[112] requires the Department of Defense to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations contained in their report. DoD has responded that a new investigation would not be conducted since a Navy Court of Inquiry had already investigated the facts and circumstances surrounding the attack.

As of 2006, the NSA had yet to declassify "boxes and boxes" of Liberty documents. Numerous requests under both declassification directives and the Freedom of Information Act are pending with various agencies including the NSA, Central Intelligence Agency, and Defense Intelligence Agency. "On 8 June 2007, the National Security Agency released hundreds of additional declassified documentson the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, a communications interception vessel, on 8 June 1967."[105]

On 2 October 2007, The Chicago Tribune published a special report[7] into the attack, containing numerous previously unreported quotes from former military personnel with first-hand knowledge of the incident. Many of these quotes directly contradict the NSA's position that it never intercepted the communications of the attacking Israeli pilots, saying that not only did transcripts of those communications exist, but also that it showed the Israelis knew they were attacking an American naval vessel.

Two diplomatic cables written by Avraham Harman, Israel's ambassador in Washington, to Abba Eban, Israel's minister of foreign affairs, have been declassified by Israel and obtained from the Israel State Archive. The first cable, sent five days after the attack, informs Eban that a U.S. informant told Harman there was "clear proof that from a certain stage the pilot discovered the identity of the ship and continued the attack anyway".[15] The second cable, sent three days later, added that the White House is "very angry" because "the Americans probably have findings showing that our pilots indeed knew that the ship was American".[7] Documents of the Israeli General Staff meetings, declassified in October 2008, show no discussion of a planned attack on an American ship.[113]

On 30 October 2014, Al Jazeera broadcast a documentary film containing recent first-hand accounts by several survivors of the incident.[114] The documentary argues that Israel knew the ship was American, and planned to blame its sinking on Egypt in order to draw the United States into the war on the Israeli side.

Details in dispute The "Second Ensign" flown during the attack. Israel Defense Forces' investigative reports say their pilots and torpedo boat commander saw no flags during the attack.Damaged USS Liberty one day after attack (9 June 1967)An auxiliary ship of the Egyptian NavyVarious details regarding the attack are the subject of controversy:

Visibility of American flag: The official Israeli reports say that the reconnaissance and fighter aircraft pilots, and the torpedo boat captains did not see any flag on the Liberty. Official American reports say that the Liberty was flying her American flag before, during and after the attack; the only exception being a brief period in which one flag had been shot down and was replaced with a larger flag. The helicopters sent to the attack site to provide assistance after the air attack noticed an American flag flying from the ship almost immediately upon their arrival at the attack site[115] and informed their controller.[citation needed ]U.S. crewmen's perceptions of intent: Surviving crewmembers of the Liberty say that Israel's attack on the ship was "deliberate" and with full knowledge that the vessel was American. Israeli investigation and history reports agree that the attack was deliberate'--but against what they believed was an Egyptian vessel.[citation needed ]Distinctiveness of USS Liberty's appearance: It is disputed whether the Liberty would have been immediately recognizable as a different vessel from the Egyptian ship El Quseir. Admiral Tom Moorer stated that the Liberty was the most identifiable ship in the U.S. Navy and in an interview with the Washington Post stated that it was "ridiculous" to suggest that it would not be identified as such. Israel states in its inquiry and history reports that the identification as the El Quseir was made by the torpedo boats while the Liberty was enveloped in smoke and was based on "The Red Book", a guide to Arab fleets that did not include U.S. vessels.[citation needed ]Identification markings: Liberty bore an eight-foot-high "5" and a four-foot-high "GTR" along either bow, clearly indicating her hull (or "pennant") number (AGTR-5), and had 18-inch (460 mm)-high letters spelling the vessel's name across her stern. These markings were not cursive Arabic script but in the Latin alphabet. Israeli pilots initially said they were primarily concerned with ensuring the ship was not an Israeli warship and that they ended the air attack when they noticed the Latin alphabet markings.[116][better source needed ]Ship's identification known during attack: A James Bamford book[117] published in 2001 said that secret NSA intercepts indicate that Israeli pilots had full knowledge they were attacking a U.S. vessel.[118]Effort for identification: The American crew says the attacking aircraft did not make identification runs over Liberty, but began to strafe immediately. Israel says several identification passes were made. The Naval Court of Enquiry, based on the Israeli timeline of events, found: "One may infer from the fact that within a period of approximately 15 minutes, the request was transmitted (for aircraft to be dispatched), received, a command decision made, aircraft dispatched, and the attack launched, that no significant time was expended in an effort to identify the ship from the air before the attack was launched."[119][non-primary source needed ]Speed of the vessel: According to Israeli accounts, the torpedo boat made erroneous measurements that indicated that Liberty was steaming at 30 kn (35 mph; 56 km/h). Israeli naval doctrine at the time required that a ship traveling at that speed must be presumed to be a warship. A second boat calculated Liberty ' s speed to be 28 kn (32 mph; 52 km/h). The maximum sustained speed of Liberty was only 17.5 kn (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h), 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h). According to the Court of Enquiry findings the ship was steaming at 5 kn (5.8 mph; 9.3 km/h) at the time of the attack.[citation needed ]Commander W.L. McGonagle in his damaged cabin after the attackMotive: James Bamford, among others, says one possible motive was to prevent the United States from eavesdropping on Israeli military activities and monitoring the events taking place in nearby Gaza.[118] In a study of the incident concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support either accidental or deliberate attack, Colonel Peyton E. Smith wrote: "The attack was most likely deliberate for reasons far too sensitive to be disclosed by the U.S. (or) Israeli government and that the truth may never be known".[120] Author and former crew member James M. Ennes theorized, in the epilogue of his book Assault on the Liberty, that the motive was to prevent the ship's crew from monitoring radio traffic that might reveal Israel as the aggressor in its impending invasion of Syria, which the White House opposed. According to the Anti Defamation League "the argument that Israel knowingly attacked an American ship has always lacked a convincing motive".[121]Israeli aircraft markings: The USS Liberty Veterans Association says that the attacking Israeli aircraft were not marked,[81] but a crewmember recalls watching a Jewish officer cry on seeing the blue Star of David on their fuselages.[7] The torpedo boats that attacked Liberty flew the Israeli flag.[45]Jamming: During U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry testimony, Wayne L. Smith, Radioman Chief, testified that radio communications were intermittently jammed. Rear Admiral Kidd (a senior member of Naval Court of Inquiry) reported: "Liberty reported apparent discriminate jamming on certain CW and voice circuits just before and during each aircraft's individual attack." None of the Israeli Defense Forces' investigations or reports confirm or deny radio frequency jamming.[citation needed ]Jamming as a motive: A UPI report published by The Washington Star on 19 September 1977 indicated CIA documents obtained by the American Palestine Committee suggested Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan ordered the attack, because Liberty was jamming Israeli communications. A CIA document dated 23 June 1967 said Liberty had been jamming Israeli communications. Another CIA document dated 9 November 1967 quoted unidentified agency informants as saying Dayan personally ordered the attack; the CIA said the documents were "unevaluated for accuracy".[122]Israeli ships' actions after the torpedo hit: Officers and men of Liberty say that after the torpedo attack and the abandon ship order, motor torpedo boats strafed the ship's topside with automatic gunfire preventing men from escaping from below, and either machine-gunned or confiscated the empty life rafts that had been set afloat.[123][82] The IDF says that Liberty was not fired upon after the torpedo attack and that a rescue raft was fished from the water while searching for survivors.[124]Israeli offers of help: The Liberty ' s captain, several of the Liberty ' s crewmen and the Israelis stated that help was offered, but at different times. The Liberty ' s Deck Log, signed by the captain, has an entry at 15:03 stating: "One MTB returned to the ship and signaled, 'Do you need help.' '‰ " The Israel Defense Forces's History Report and the Ram Ron report both say that help was offered at 16:40 and the offer was rejected.[124][47]U.S. rescue attempts: At least two rescue attempts were launched from U.S. aircraft carriers nearby, but were recalled, according to the Liberty ' s senior Naval Security Group officer, Lieutenant Commander David Lewis. Lewis made an audio recording[125] and later wrote[126] about a meeting 6th Fleet Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis requested in his cabins: He told me that since I was the senior Liberty survivor on board he wanted to tell me in confidence what had actually transpired. He told me that upon receipt of our SOS, aircraft were launched to come to our assistance and then Washington was notified. He said that the Secretary of Defense (Robert McNamara) had ordered that the aircraft be returned to the carrier, which was done. RADM Geis then said that he speculated that Washington may have suspected that the aircraft carried nuclear weapons so he put together another flight of conventional aircraft that had no capability of carrying nuclear weapons. These he launched to assist us and again notified Washington of his actions. Again McNamara ordered the aircraft recalled. He requested confirmation of the order being unable to believe that Washington would let us sink. This time President Johnson ordered the recall with the comment that he did not care if every man drowned and the ship sank, but that he would not embarrass his allies.[self-published source? ]

See also The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy ShipReferences Notes ^ The failure of the Israeli navy's attacks on Egyptian and Syrian ports early in the war did little to assuage Israel's fears. The U.S. had previously rejected Israel's request for a formal naval liaison. On 31 May, Avraham Harman, Israel's ambassador to Washington, had warned Under Secretary of State Eugene V. Rostow that if war breaks out, "we would have no telephone number to call, no code for plane recognition, and no way to get in touch with the U.S. Sixth Fleet". (Oren 2000) ^ While Egyptian naval ships were known to disguise their identities with Western markings, they usually displayed Arabic letters and numbers only. The fact that the ship had Western markings led Rabin to fear that it was Soviet, and he immediately called off the jets. Two IAF Super Frelon helicopters were sent to look for survivors '-- Spector had reported seeing men overboard '-- while the torpedo boat squadron was ordered to hold its fire pending further attempts at identification. Though that order was recorded in the torpedo boat's log, [the commander], Oren, claimed he never received it. (Oren 2000) ^ Translation: "We express deep sorrow for the thirty-four friends who died by our hands in combat they should not have been involved in. May their memory be blessed. Veterans of MTB squadron" ^ Several Liberty crew members testified that they had briefly seen a periscope during the attack. In 1988, the Lyndon Johnson Library declassified and released a document from the Liberty archive with the "Top Secret'--Eyes Only" security caveat (Document #12C sanitized and released 21DEC88 under review case 86''199). This "Memorandum for the Record" dated 10 April 1967 reported a briefing of the "303 Committee" by General Ralph D. Steakley. According to the memo, General Steakley "briefed the committee on a sensitive DOD project known as FRONTLET 615", which is identified in a handwritten note on the original memorandum as "submarine within U.A.R. waters". Further Freedom of Information Act requests returned no information on any project called "FRONTLET 615". In February 1997, a senior member of the crew of the submarine USS Amberjack told James Ennes that he had watched the attack through the periscope and took pictures. According to the official ship's history from the Department of Defense, Amberjack ' s mission between 23 April and 24 July was reconnaissance within U.A.R. waters. When contacted, four crewmen stated that they were so close to Liberty when it came under attack that some of the crew believed Amberjack itself was under depth charge attack. August Hubal, Captain of the Amberjack, insists that the vessel was 100 mi (160 km) from the Liberty and when told the crew believed they were closer replied "They must be mistaken". On 2 July 2003, as a result of a lawsuit using the Freedom of Information Act by Joel Leyden on behalf of the Israel News Agency requesting any evidence that the U.S. submarine Amberjack had gathered by means of its periscope, the National Security Agency stated that there had been "no radio intercepts made by the U.S. submarine Amberjack". James Ennes believes that if the submarine photography exists, it should show that the ship's flag was clearly visible to the attacking fighters and torpedo boats. Citations ^ a b c "Wikimapia.org Tag". Archived from the original on 14 December 2006 . Retrieved 17 June 2010 . ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, pp. 1''2, 5, 25''26, 28 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, pp. 28''29, 52 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 26 ^ Cristol, A.Jay (2013). The Liberty Incident Revealed: The Definitive Account of the 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship. Naval Institute Press. pp. 61, 113''114. ISBN 978-1-61251-387-4. ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 57 ^ a b c d e f Crewdson, John (2 October 2007). "New revelations in attack on American spy ship". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007 . Retrieved 4 October 2007 . ^ Ofer, Aderet (11 July 2017). " 'But sir, it's an American ship.' 'Never mind, hit her!' When Israel attacked USS Liberty". Haaretz. ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 64 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 2 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 1 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 5 ^ a b c Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 21 ^ a b Scott 2009, p. 197 ^ Ennes 1987, pp. 38''39 ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 20 ^ a b c Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 25 ^ "Chronology of Events" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2007 . Retrieved 17 June 2007 . ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry Archived 19 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine Court of Inquiry for USS Liberty attack, Record of Proceedings, 18 June 1967 ^ NSA History Report, pp. 21''23 ^ Ennes 1987, p. 62 ^ IDF History Report 1982, pp. 6''7 ^ a b c d IDF History Report 1982, p. 7 ^ IDF History Report 1982, pp. 7''8 ^ a b c IDF History Report 1982, p. 8 ^ a b c d e f g h i j IDF History Report 1982, p. 10 ^ a b Bamford, Body of Secrets ^ a b c d e f IDF History Report 1982, p. 11 ^ Yerushalmi Inquiry Report Archived 30 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine p 3 ^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 12 ^ a b c IDF History Report 1982, p. 13 ^ a b c IDF Ram Ron Report 1967, p. 5 ^ Scott 2009, p. 215 ^ Scott 2009, p. 47 ^ Scott 2009, pp. 44''46 ^ Oren, Michael B. '' Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East ^ Gerhard & Millington 1981, pp. 25''26 ^ Scott 2009, p. 39 ^ a b Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 28 ^ Scott 2009, p. 66 ^ "Israeli Seaman Describes Attack". Owosso Argus-Press. Owosso, Michigan. 6 July 1967. p. 12. ^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 16 ^ a b c d Gerhard & Millington 1981, p. 29 ^ IDF History Report 1982, p. 17 ^ a b IDF Ram Ron Report 1967, p. 9 ^ "NSA History Report" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2004 . Retrieved 27 September 2006 . ^ "Public Affairs in the USS Liberty Incident" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2013. ^ "Diplomatic Note From Secretary of State Rusk to the Israeli Ambassador". U.S. Department of State: Office of the Historian. US Government. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016 . Retrieved 9 November 2015 . ^ Lenczowski 1990, p. 111 citing Ennes 1987, p. 285, appendix S ^ Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1971). The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 300''301. We learned that the ship had been attacked in error by Israeli gunboats and aircraft. Ten men of the Liberty crew were killed and a hundred were wounded. This heartbreaking episode grieved the Israelis deeply, as it did us. ^ Navy Medal of Honor: Vietnam War (era) 1964''1975, citation for Captain William L. McGonagle, U.S. Navy Archived 18 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 15, 2006 ^ a b c Even as USS Liberty's Heroic Captain Receives New Honor, Coverup of Israeli Attack on His Ship Continues Archived 18 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1998, pp. 26, 88 ^ Congressional Medal of Honor Society Archived 23 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 20, 2007 ^ Bernton, Hal, "Deadly attack on USS Liberty gets new attention Archived 12 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine", The Seattle Times, June 9, 2009. ^ "Court of Inquiry" (PDF) . Retrieved 30 June 2022 . ^ "Report of the JCS Fact Finding Team, USS Liberty Incident, 8 June 1967" (PDF) . Retrieved 30 June 2022 . ^ "Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1967" (PDF) . Retrieved 30 June 2022 . ^ "The Liberty Incident: Clark Clifford Report". www.thelibertyincident.com. ^ "Hearings Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninetieth Congress" (PDF) . Retrieved 30 June 2022 . ^ "Report of the Armed Services Investigating Subcommittee of the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Ninety-Second Congress, First Session" (PDF) . Retrieved 30 June 2022 . ^ "U.S.S. Liberty '' NSA/CSS". 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. ^ a b Scott 2009, p. 263 ^ Scott 2009, p. 183 ^ a b c d e "U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry; USS Liberty" (PDF) . USS Liberty Memorial. 10 June 1967. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2010 . Retrieved 13 May 2009 . ^ a b c d e f g h B. Oren, Michael. "The USS Liberty Incident: "The USS Liberty: Case Closed" ". jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Jewish virtual library. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019 . Retrieved 16 April 2019 . ^ a b c Schwar, Harriet Dashiell, ed. (2004). Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964''1968, Volume XIX, Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1967 (PDF) . Washington (D.C.): Government printing Office. p. 469. ISBN 0-16-051513-0. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2019 . Retrieved 26 December 2018 . ^ S.1872 A Bill to Amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (PDF) (Report). Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. 12 June 1967. p. 268. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 December 2006 . Retrieved 2 July 2006 . ^ a b Harriette, A.; Ennes Jr, J.M. (1979). Assault on the Liberty . РиÐоÐ>> КÐ>>ассик. p. 270. ISBN 978-5872324027 . Retrieved 16 April 2019 . ^ a b Crewdson, John (2 October 2007). "New revelations in attack on American spy ship". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019 . Retrieved 16 April 2019 . ^ Aderet, Ofer (11 July 2017). " 'But Sir, It's an American Ship.' 'Never Mind, Hit Her!' When Israel Attacked USS Liberty". haaretz.com. Haaretz. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019 . Retrieved 17 April 2019 . ^ IDF Ram Ron Report 1967 ^ "Yerushalmi Report" (PDF) . Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2012 . Retrieved 30 September 2012 . ^ a b c IDF History Report 1982 ^ Hanley, Delinda C. (July''August 2003). "Navy Captain, Other Officials Call For Investigation Of Israel's Attack On USS Liberty". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. pp. 42, 53. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017 . Retrieved 22 June 2017 . ^ Rusk, Dean (1991). As I Saw it. Penguin Books. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-14-015391-0. ^ Ennes 1987 ^ "USS Liberty Memorial". Gtr5.com. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011 . Retrieved 26 November 2011 . ^ a b "USS Liberty Veterans Association". Usslibertyveterans.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011 . Retrieved 26 November 2011 . ^ a b "Declaration of Ward Boston, Jr., Captain, JAGC, USN (Ret.)". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. March 2004. p. 10. ^ "Boston, Ward '' Affidavit" (PDF) . The Liberty Incident. 22 October 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2005 . Retrieved 8 April 2005 . ^ "Letter to Cristol from Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, Jr" (PDF) . The Liberty Incident. 3 August 1991. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2012 . Retrieved 26 November 2011 . ^ Walsh, David C. (June 2003). "Friendless Fire?". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. 129 (6/1, 204). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016 . Retrieved 22 June 2017 . ^ Hirsh Goodman and Ze'ev Schiff, "The Attack on the Liberty," The Atlantic Monthly, September 1984 ^ "The Lie that Won't Die: The U.S.S. Liberty Attack Slander". blogs.timesofisrael.com. ^ Dead in the Water BBC Interview with Former Head Israeli Navy 1967, Admiral Shlomo Erell ^ "Ods Home Page" (PDF) . daccessdds.un.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. ^ Wellens, Karen; T.M.C. Asser Instituut (1990). Resolutions and statements of the United Nations Security Council (1946''1989): a thematic guide. Brill. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-7923-0796-9. ^ Daichman, Josef (2001). Mossad: istoria luchshei v mire razvedki. Smolensk: Rusich. ^ Hot summer of 1967: The Israeli attack on America and the 'Soviet destroyer.' Archived 17 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Pravda 14 September 2002 ^ LBJ, National Security File, Box 104/107, Middle East Crisis: Jerusalem to the Secretary of State, 8 June 1967; Barbour to Department, 8 June 1967; Joint Embassy Memorandum, 8 June 1967. ^ a b Excerpt Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine from Body of Secrets by James Bamford. ^ Memo Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine from James Bamford regarding criticism of his charges. ^ New York Times, 8 June 1967 ^ New York Times article by Serge Schmemann, 21 August 1995 ^ Bamford Bashes Israel Archived 26 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine CAMERA ^ Addendum to 2007 Edition Archived 8 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine, online statement, June 2007. ^ "New evidence for American cover-up of Israeli attack on U.S. warship" Archived 11 September 2004 at the Wayback Machine, BBC, 6 August 2002. ^ "Ex-Navy Official: 1967 Israeli Attack on U.S. Ship Was Deliberate". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 23 October 2003. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008 . Retrieved 16 November 2008 . ^ Loftus, John; Aarons, Mark (1994). The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed The Jewish People. St. Martin's Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0-312-15648-0. ^ "Possible Reflections of Israeli Attack Against USS Liberty" (PDF) . National Security Agency. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2007. ^ a b "U.S.S. Liberty". National Security Agency. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. ^ "Audio Recording Labeled 104" (PDF) . National Security Agency. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2012. ^ "Audio Recording Labeled 130" (PDF) . National Security Agency. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2012. ^ "Audio Recording Labeled 105" (PDF) . National Security Agency. 8 June 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2012. ^ "SIGINT Reflection of LIBERTY Incident" (PDF) . National Security Agency. 27 June 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2012. ^ "Satellite News and latest stories | the Jerusalem Post". Archived from the original on 16 October 2007 . Retrieved 24 April 2019 . ^ "DoD Directive 2311.01E, "DoD Law of War Program", 5/9/2006". 31 January 2007. Archived from the original on 31 January 2007. ^ Oren, Amir (30 October 2008). "War from the bottom up". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 27 October 2008 . Retrieved 29 November 2008 . ^ "The Day Israel Attacked America". Al Jazeera English. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014 . Retrieved 8 November 2014 . ^ "USS Liberty attack tapes released". CNN. 9 July 2003. Archived from the original on 19 June 2006 . Retrieved 1 July 2006 . ^ "The USS Liberty". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011 . Retrieved 26 November 2011 . ^ Body of Secrets, by James Bamford, Doubleday, 2001 (ISBN 0-09-942774-5) ^ a b Israel's 1967 attack on U.S. ship deliberate, book says Archived 3 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine CNN, 23 April 2001 ^ Salans Memo pdf Salans Report Archived 19 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine 21 September 1967 ^ Assault on the USS Liberty: Deliberate Action or Tragic Accident Archived 19 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Colonel Peyton E. Smith 30 March 2007 ^ The USS Liberty Attack Archived 14 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine Anti Defamation League ^ "New Light on the Liberty". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. 103 (12): 108. December 1977. ^ Ennes 1987, pp. 95''96[1] Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine[2] Archived 27 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine ^ a b IDF History Report 1982, p. 19 ^ "USS LIBERTY --- LEWIS SOUND". Roadrunner.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014 . Retrieved 18 June 2022 . ^ "Controversy". Earthlink.net. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019 . Retrieved 18 June 2022 . Bibliography Ennes, James, N. Jr. (1987). Assault on the Liberty: The True Story of the Israeli Attack on an American Intelligence Ship. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-5-87232-402-7. {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ; ussliberty.org Archived 9 March 2022 at the Wayback MachineGerhard, William D.; Millington, Henry W. (1981). Attack on a SIGINT Collector, the USS Liberty (PDF) . NSA History Report, U.S. Cryptologic History series (Report). National Security Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. partially declassified 1999, 2003.The Attack on the "Liberty" Incident (PDF) (Report). Israel Defence Forces, History Department. June 1982. Colonel Ram Ron (16 June 1967). Ram Ron Report (PDF) (Report). Israel Defense Forces Inquiry Commission Report. Lenczowski, George (1990). American presidents and the Middle East. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-0963-5. Oren, Michael B. (Spring 2000). "The 'USS Liberty': Case Closed". Azure. No. 9. Scott, James (2009). The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-5482-0. Further reading Scott, James M. "The Spy Ship Left Out in the Cold" Naval History Magazine (June 2017) 31#3 pp 28+ onlineBregman, Ahron (2002). A History of Israel. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-67631-9. Cristol, A. Jay (2002). The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-414-X. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, by Michael B. Oren, Oxford University Press (ISBN 0-19-515174-7)The Puzzle Palace, by James Bamford, Penguin Books, 1982, has a detailed description of the Israeli attack on the SIGINT ship USS Liberty, and the events leading up to it, on pages 279''293.Body of Secrets, by James Bamford, devotes a detailed chapter to the incident, and concludes it was deliberate. Doubleday, 2001 (ISBN 0-09-942774-5)Peter Hounam, Operation Cyanide: Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty Nearly Caused World War III, Vision Paperbacks. 2003, ISBN 1-904132-19-7,Anthony Pearson, Conspiracy of Silence: The Attack on the USS Liberty, 1979 ISBN 0-7043-2164-5Thomas, Baylis (1999). How Israel Was Won: A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict . Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN 0-7391-0064-5. In Chapter 15 on "The Six-Day War and Its Consequences", dissects the sequence of events and concurrent attacks on Arab towns and explores the possibility that the attack on this U.S. spy ship was an intentional act to prevent U.S. monitoring of Israeli military actions, and that the intent was to kill all U.S. personnel on board before any kind of communications could be sent out.External links

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Surprisingly! Somehow, someway, my blog is being viewed, all around the world! To be honest, I've had writer's block for quite some time. I'm not sure why and I thought it would magically disappear but to my dismay, it stayed.So here I am, typing at a keyboard for the world to see what words will appear...I'm not your typical writer and I acknowledge this in a world of predictability.My daughter decided to go rummaging through a stack of old college papers. These are not ordinary, boring, college essays. She had leaped upon a pot of gold...my essays from years of my creative writing classes where I poured out my heart and soul. How I wish I could unload such honesty and emotion these days? As she read through my essays, I kept yelling for the world to hear "Oh my gosh, WHO wrote this?"And it made me quite a bit sad because that piece of me has disappeared for quite some time. So, here I am, digging deep, and letting the words fly, as I type.Honestly, if I tell the truth, the words hurt too much. Life has been good. And life has been a jack in the box. I wake up everyday, praying not to hear "please call me" from my Mom.Father's Day was a bag of mixed emotions. I wanted to push the thoughts far away and tried to distract myself. Who am I fooling? My Dad is my Everything. I honestly don't know what will happen when he is no longer in this world. My world might go spinning out of control. I've warned my husband. I'll need an anchor. I'll want to run. I'll probably start running ultra's again. When I'm in the woods, I have this feeling of being one with nature, a certain calmness takes over me. Even when I'm lost in the woods and have no idea where I'm going, I always end up heading the right way.My Dad has Lewy Body dementia and it's absolutely devastating. I wish my parents hadn't moved away. I wish I was closer to help my Mom. I think about her everyday and all that she is going through. I have flashbacks of that tearful moment with my Dad, visiting with my kids, and me, and my husband, and I knew, that he knew, deep inside his mind, who we were and the flashbacks of soccer games, basketball games, band concerts, and family celebrations. The tears are endless. A sort of traumatic grief of losing a wonderful man to a dreadful disease that robs your mind and body.Honestly, it is hard to express the rage I feel. I want my Dad back. If only I had known the brief window of time we had, I would have relished all those moments spent with him. I can't even begin to explain how sad I am. And if you see me, you might never know, because I hide it well, and carry on.I write as I run. My thoughts are a million miles a minute, Here they come...IT'S NOT FAIR.I've been so silent for so long. Because I knew the emotions would absolutely flood me.And now here we are.IT'S NOT FAIR.Hello. Wake Up. No One EVER said life would be fair. SO GRIN and Bear it.Yesss....I stay silent as I scream to the moon.I wish I could write more often. I wish I could just sit here and spill all my thoughts to the Universe, Could you imagine how freeing that would be??????My life chases me.There are so many thoughts I kick around in my chaotic mindOKay,,,,give me a moment here, as I breathe....Spinning, endlessly, amongst the boundaries of the Universe.I'm constantly wonderingBut my thoughts remain within myself.And now it's a new songAND I DANCEYes, I loose myself.Into the music I go.EscapeSpinning, Moving, Not Being StillBecausethen I would have to remember...life is about living in the moment..HA! SO CLICHE'BlinkDon't Open Your Eyes.FRozenIn Time.Don't Ever, EverWHAT DID YOU DO??I told You.Close Your Eyes.Close Your Eyes.Close Your Eyes.HOLD ONEMBRACEWHAT ARE YOU FEELINGRIGHT NOWREMEMBEREVERYTHINGIT ALL COUNTS.Don't miss this amazing one night only benefit concert at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth Street, SW, Washington, DC, to assist with relief efforts to Puerto Rico!  Holiday-Hearts-and-Home benefit concert is TONIGHT, Monday, December 11th, 2017 at 7pm. All ticket and cash bar sales will go towards supporting local chef Jose' Andrés’ charity World Central Kitchen ( worldcentralkitchen.org/) as well as #ChefsForPuertoRico, providing relief efforts to Puerto Rico following the destructiveness of Hurricane Maria. Tickets are available at the door this evening or online for $40: Holidays Hearts and Home benefit concert for Puerto Rico. Victor Wisehart is the actor, who currently plays Charley, the Fix it Man, in the Pajama Game, that spearheaded this fundraiser event.  Holidays, Hearts, and Home was created by, directed and produced by Victor Wisehart.  I spoke to him about this event, after seeing him perform in the The Pajama Game at the Arena Theater, a week ago. "It is important to give back to the community and do good when the opportunity arises." It will be a magical evening! Hosted by four-time Helen Hayes Award-winner Ed Gero and featuring amazing talent, who are cast members from The Pajama Game, as well as,  guest stars of theWashington, D.C. area theater community, including Natascia Diaz, Britney Coleman and Tim Rogan. They will be performing  beloved holiday classics and musical theater songs.   METRO: Arena Stage at the Mead Center for AmericanTheater is only one block from the Waterfront-SEU Metro station (Green Line).When exiting the station, walk west on M Street toward Sixth Street, and themain entrance to the Mead Center is on the right.

PARKING: Parking is available in Arena Stage’s on-site garage for $22 on afirst-come, first-served basis. Patrons can also park at the Public ParkingGarage at 1101 Fourth Street, one block from the Mead Center, for $14.

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Tue, 10 Oct 2023 16:12

Bible Question:My question is about the Middle East conflict. Can you explain how the conflict started?

Bible Answer:The Middle East conflict started when Abraham's wife, Sarah, did not follow God's will. God promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation (Genesis 12:2; 15:18). Since Abraham and Sarah had no children at that time, Sarah suggested that Abraham have a child by her handmaid, Hagar (Gen. 16:1-2). Sarah was ''helping God out.'' She had her own idea as to how Abraham could become the father of a great nation. She had a plan.

Abraham Sends Hagar Ishmael Away

She had an idea as to how to accomplish God's will. So she took control and offered Abraham her maid as a concubine. She may have done this because of unbelief (Genesis 18:11-15), but we cannot be sure of her motivation at that time. What we do know is that this was not God's will. As a result, trouble followed. Yes, her plan worked. Abraham and Hagar had a child. Things looked great. I am sure she believed that God had blessed her plan, but what followed revealed her sin.

She became jealous of Hagar and Hagar fled. The Lord had more compassion than Sarah. Here is what followed between God and Hagar:

Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, ''I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they shall be too many to count.'' The angel of the LORD said to her further, ''Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. ''And he will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.'' Genesis 16:10-12 (NASB)

Notice God's statement about the conflict that would follow. The conflict would be between Isaac and Ishmael. God said, ''His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand in conflict with everyone, and consequently, everyone would react against him and his descendants.

Also, God promised to make great nations of both Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac would be the father of Israel and Ishmael the father of the Arabs.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year. Genesis 17:20-21 (NASB)

Sometime after Isaac was born, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away. They went into the desert to live.

So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her away . . . And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. Genesis 21:14, 20-21 (NASB)

Later in Genesis 25:12-16 we discover that Ishmael had twelve sons. One of them was Kedar.

Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maid, bore to Abraham; and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the first-born of Ishmael, and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes according to their tribes. Genesis 25:12-16 (NASB)

Kedar's name occurs a number of times in the Old Testament. The most significant one for this question reveals that Kedar was an Arab. Genesis 16:1 reveals that Hagar, Ishmael's mother, was an Egyptian.

Arabia and all the princes of Kedar, they were your customers for lambs, rams, and goats; for these they were your customers. Ezekiel 27:21 (NASB)

Conclusion:The Middle East conflict was prophesied in the Old Testament. The conflict is between family members, the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael. It will continue until the second coming of Christ. The conflict is the result of Sarah trying to accomplish the Lord's will her own way. Have you ever asked God to give you leading in your life about His will? Then perhaps you did not receive the answer you wanted, so you did things your own way? Did you ignore the Word of God because you knew God was a God of grace and would forgive you? This is a great lesson for us. We need to remember that on the surface doing things our own way can appear great and yet be the seed of trouble to come.

Suggested Links:Peace in The Middle East: Sign of the End Afghanistan '' Another Step To ArmageddonGod's Timeline For The FutureJerusalem '' The Focus of the World's Future Where does the Bible say that we should support Israel? '-- Abrahamic Covenant

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Tue, 10 Oct 2023 16:05

7.17.23

Transportation Demand Management legislation introduced; RFP released for Citywide Mobility Plan Monday, July 17, 2023 '-- Cleveland '-- Mayor Justin M. Bibb and the administration recently took significant actions to advance the mayor's vision for a 15-minute city, where people's basic needs can be met within a short walk, bike ride, or transit trip. The overarching goal of this work is to make Cleveland a more attractive, desirable, and safer city in which to live, work and play. The 15-minute city framework encourages private investment along historic commercial corridors with high-frequency transit service, increases transportation choice and freedom, and promotes healthy living and sustainability '-- all of which improves quality of life for residents. ''Investing in multimodal corridors and transportation choice is critical to Cleveland's success on many levels,'' said Mayor Bibb. ''Putting people over cars allows us to build a city that is safer, healthier, and more accessible for everyone. The time is right to prioritize and leverage equitable investments along our low carbon transportation network, especially along chronically vacant historic commercial corridors.'' Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Legislation In partnership with City Council, legislation was introduced at the July 12 council meeting for the administration's proposed Transportation Demand Management (TDM) policy, which supports transit-oriented development and reinvestment rooted in the core of our neighborhoods. The city's proposed TDM program applies to new construction and substantial renovation projects located within a quarter mile of high-frequency transit stops in the city of Cleveland. High frequency is defined in Cleveland's context as bus or rail service that arrives at a stop every 15 minutes. TDM includes a set of policies and regulations that promote greater transportation choice and freedom. Since our region has traditionally invested heavily in automobiles, the city's TDM policy focuses on facilitating travel by other modes such as walking, biking, and public transit. ''To be successful, our bike and transit networks must safely, conveniently, and reliably connect people to the places they want to go,'' said Matt Moss, Manager of Strategic Initiatives for the City Planning Commission. ''While over 200,000 jobs and nearly half of the city's total population are located within a 5-minute walk of a high-frequency transit stop, there are also 17,000 vacant lots totaling over 2,800 acres in this footprint. This is a huge opportunity to make our neighborhoods more enjoyable places to live and work, and the city must align its rules and regulations to support investment into these areas.'' The proposed legislation will create a TDM program that swaps mandatory off-street parking requirements in the zoning code with a requirement for projects to develop a TDM plan based on the size of the project, its anticipated impact on the transportation network, and the needs of the community. The proposed legislation authorizes the City Planning Commission to adopt a menu of options that includes physical or programmatic investments '-- like the inclusion of privately owned public space, charging for off-street parking separately from apartment rents, adding secure bicycle and scooter parking, and providing transit passes for residents/employees '-- to enhance the ease and increase the use of multimodal transportation. By replacing requirements to build parking with TDM near transit, the city will allow businesses and property owners to have more control over the amount of parking they choose to provide for their operations. This reduces the hurdles to opening small businesses, facilitates the development of more affordable housing, and helps the city meet its decarbonization and equitable development/transportation goals, particularly for the city's young people and those who do not own a vehicle, either by choice or necessity. Overall, the TDM program will make it easier and more enjoyable to get around the city outside of a car, and less costly and complicated to bring historic storefronts and vacant lots along transit corridors into productive use. Citywide Mobility Plan Last week, the city also released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select a consultant team to develop a Citywide Mobility Plan that makes it easier, safer, more convenient, and more enjoyable to move around the city outside of a car. Per the 2022 Complete and Green Streets ordinance, Cleveland is required to adopt such a plan at least every five years. This process will meaningfully engage residents to build on recommendations from past comprehensive planning efforts, including the 2007 Bikeway Master Plan, to guide bicycle infrastructure build-out, identify needed improvements to pedestrian safety and accessibility, and propose program and policy improvements for people walking and biking. The Citywide Mobility Plan process complements a December technical assistance award from the national nonprofit mobility consultancy City Thread. ''The City of Cleveland's Mobility Plan will lay the foundation for equitable investments in making our streets safe for people of all ages and abilities, whether they are biking, walking, scooting, using public transit, or driving,'' said Jacob VanSickle, Executive Director of Bike Cleveland. ''This plan will be a North Star for the city and its partners, paving the way for a proactive approach to bike and pedestrian infrastructure.'' Initiatives and Programs Building the 15-Minute City These specific steps will move us closer to being a city where everyone can access their needs and wants within a short 15-minute walk, bike, or transit trip. They also support and are themselves strengthened by parallel initiatives of the city, which are essential to the overall 15-minute city framework, helping us achieve a city that is safer, healthier, more affordable, more sustainable, and more enjoyable. Parallel initiatives include:

$3.5 million in the ARPA-funded Back-to-Basics program toward multimodal safety enhancements to modernize our streets, including a citywide expansion of the successful speed table pilot, modular bus stop islands that make boarding the bus faster and more efficient, and signal upgrades to make intersections safer and easier to navigate for pedestrians. Partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to improve pedestrian safety through the Pedestrian Safety Improvement Program. A $1.8 million Federal SMART grant award to prototype smart signals that can provide emergency vehicle preemption, transit prioritization, bicycle and pedestrian detection, and video-based safety analysis and close call detection. Continued development and implementation of the Complete and Green Streets policy to increase input and transparency and integrate multimodal and sustainable elements into upcoming roadway projects. The city's shared mobility initiative, through which scooters and e-bikes are available for short term rentals. The city's Form Based Code pilot, which will comprehensively update and replace the zoning code in three neighborhoods with modern land use policies and regulations.The 15-minute city framework encompasses many of the social and economic goals of the Bibb Administration, including addressing traffic safety through Vision Zero, decarbonizing our city and responding to climate change through proximity and transportation choice, improving air quality and public health, creating conditions for more affordable and diverse housing options, legalizing many of the existing homes in our neighborhoods through a form-based code pilot program, and supporting a small business ecosystem that affords entrepreneurship opportunities for Clevelanders, among others. While this strategy is citywide, it is necessary groundwork for specific focus areas such as the Southeast Side. Barriers to investment and opportunities are structural, and the proposed structural changes to how our city operates make it possible to realize our broad goals and jumpstart the revitalization of Cleveland's neighborhoods.

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Mon, 09 Oct 2023 20:27

Hamas is threatening to escalate their war crimes further while Joe Biden refuses to perform his sworn duties as commander-in-chief.

As Cristina Laila previously reported, the Biden regime called a lid before noon. The so-called president will be prioritizing nap time over doing his job.

''We Will Not Be Seeing the President Today'' '' Joe Biden Goes Into Hiding, Calls a Lid Before Noon as Hamas Holds Americans Hostage

The Regime made this move for the feeble Joe even as Hamas kidnaps young women, abuses the bodies of the victims, beheads Israeli soldiers, and slaughters innocent civilians at peace gatherings.

The news gets even worse, though. Hamas is now threatening a mass execution of innocent hostages in Israel on live television each time an Israeli defense force strike hits a ''civilian'' in Gaza.

BREAKING: A spokesperson for Hamas just said that they are going to start executing civilian hostages they took from Israel on live TV for every IDF airstrike that hits a civilian in Gaza, which happens as a result of Hamas using them as human shields.

These are the animals leftists are defending.

VIDEO:

BREAKING: A spokesperson for Hamas just said that they are going to start executing civilian hostages they took from Israel on live TV for every IDF airstrike that hits a civilian in Gaza, which happens as a result of Hamas using them as human shields.

These are the animals'... pic.twitter.com/BbGb2mEOAr

'-- Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 9, 2023

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Hamas barbarians reportedly have multiple Americans among these hostages. So the Islamist group may very well start beheading Americans while Biden sleeps in comfort.

American citizens are among these hostages BTW.

So glad the president is taking the rest of the day off.https://t.co/QPN9os4ebv

'-- Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 9, 2023

The Gateway Pundit revealed previously that Hamas terrorists launched a massive surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, killing dozens of soldiers and innocent families inside Israel.

Hamas reportedly launched over 5,000 missiles into southern and central Israel. Over 800 Israelis died, and over 2,000 have been hospitalized so far following the massive assault. The number of dead could rise further in the coming days.

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Mon, 09 Oct 2023 20:27

Arms Washington sent to Kiev and left in Afghanistan are about to be ''uncontrollably used'' around the world, Dmitry Medvedev has warned

The weapons Kiev's Western backers have actively supplied to Ukraine have found their way to Hamas militants and are now ''being actively used in Israel,'' former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Monday, adding that any future military hardware supplied to Kiev could end up on the black market as well.

''It will only get worse from here,'' Medvedev warned, predicting that the world should ''expect missiles, tanks, and even planes from Kiev on the black market soon.''

His words came amid rumors that Hamas militants that control the Gaza Strip had gotten their hands on some US-made weaponry before their attack on Israel over the weekend. No solid evidence confirming these claims has emerged so far. However, an unverified video circulating online showed a Palestinian militant displaying assorted US-made pieces, including a standard-issue M136 anti-tank grenade launcher, while thanking Ukrainians for the weapons.

According to Medvedev, ''corrupt authorities'' in Ukraine would not hesitate to trade everything they had received from their backers. ''They would steal everything in sight,'' the former president claimed, adding that the Western weapons sent to Ukraine would soon fuel conflicts in other parts of the world, just like the trove of weapons the Americans left in Afghanistan during their hasty withdrawal from the country in 2021.

The aforementioned video has already sparked concerns in the US, with Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene saying on Sunday that its origins must be investigated. The congresswoman also claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that some of the arms used by the militants might have come from Ukraine or Afghanistan.

Washington has been Kiev's biggest supplier of military aid since the onset of its conflict with Moscow. The US has poured a total of $46.6 billion into military assistance to Ukraine, including direct weapons and ammunition shipments, as well as grants and loans for weapons and equipment.

Kiev has repeatedly faced accusations of misusing or selling off the weaponry, which it has vehemently denied. On Monday, the Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) blamed the rumors about weapons supposedly coming from Ukraine to Hamas on Russia.

Moscow was allegedly waging a ''discreditation'' campaign against Ukraine in the Middle East, GUR claimed in a Facebook post, adding that the weapons that ended up in the hands of Hamas were ''trophy weapons'' captured by Russian forces from Ukrainian troops. Russia has not commented on these claims so far.

The news came amid the latest escalation between Hamas and Israel, which began last Saturday when the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack on multiple locations along the Gaza border. Israeli officials have estimated that more than 700 people have been killed in the Hamas assault and over 2,200 have been injured.

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Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:58

Published: 4:37 PM PDT, October 8, 2023

Celebrity chef Michael Chiarello , a former Food Network star, has died. He was 61.

Chiarello died at the Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, California, on Friday, People reports. He'd spent the last week being treated for an acute allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock.

Chiarello's family released a statement to the outlet, paying tribute to the famed chef, and sharing, "We deeply mourn the loss of our beloved patriarch Michael. His culinary brilliance, boundless creativity, and unwavering commitment to family were at the core of his being."

"He brought people together through the joy of shared meals, fostering lasting memories around the table," the statement continued. "As we navigate this profound loss, we hold dear the moments we cherished with him, both in his kitchens and in our hearts. His legacy will forever live on in the love he poured into every dish and the passion he instilled in all of us to savor life's flavors."

Details surrounding his allergic reaction and subsequent hospitalization have not yet been disclosed.

Chiarello worked in fine dining since the 1980s, and began his career as a chef in front of the camera in 2001, with his first show, Season by Season , premiering on PBS.

In 2003, Chiarello began hosting a new show, Easy Entertaining , on the Food Network and helmed the show NapaStyle, which premiered in 2004 on Food Network's sister channel, the Fine Living Network, which later became the Cooking Channel.

He also authored multiple cookbooks throughout his career, most recently the 2013 publication Michael Chiarello's Live Fire: 125 Recipes for Cooking Outdoors.

Chiarello is survived by four children -- son Aiden, and daughters Margaux, Felicia, and Giana.

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Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:02

BEDBUGS have invaded the London Underground - with a skin-crawling clip showing critters jumping on a woman's leg.

The woman posted a clip of a bedbug inching up her trouser leg in a Tube carriage.

2

A horrified Londoner spotted a bedbug crawling up her leg Credit: TikTok /@lassogold 2

She saw it while travelling on the London Underground Credit: TikTok /@lassogoldPosting on TikTok, she said: "Minding my own business on the Victoria Line.

"A f***ing bed bug is on my leg.

"Said he'd got a great deal on the Eurostar and wondered if I could take him home.

"Sort it out Transport for London."

Airlines and hotels across the UK are bracing for an invasion of "super-bedbugs" from Paris, where they have run rampant.

Grim clips from the French capital show the blood-sucking bugs crawling across hotel bedsheets, cafe tables and Metro carriages.

One major hotel UK chain is quizzing guests about whether they have come from France.

The rooms of those who have come from across the Channel are reportedly deep-cleaned when they leave.

Air France, which runs six flights a day from Paris to London, said it will ground any plane if bedbugs are spotted on board.

And Eurostar is disinfecting trains from Paris if there is the "slightest doubt" they are infested.

Expert Nicolas Roux de Bezieux warn that the Parisian "super-bedbugs" are resistant to insecticides.

He told the Mail: "It's harder to kill them than it's ever been.

"Pest controllers have to return to kill them again because they survive the spray."

It comes after a pest control expert listed five ways to avoid bedbugs - and why you should never sit down on the bus.

A cleaning whizz has revealed the exact temperature you need to set your wash at to kill the critters instantly.

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:38

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:23

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Thu, 12 Oct 2023 13:50

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Charleston Wednesday afternoon for her appearance at the College of Charleston.

The visit is one stop on her ''Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour,'' which focuses on critical issues that affect young Americans.

She paused after disembarking from the plane to make a few brief comments about the war in Israel.

''Needless to say I'm completely outraged by what has taken place. we are looking at extreme acts of terrorism that must be condemned in no uncertain terms. There is absolutely no justification for terrorism,'' she said.

She reiterated the Biden Administration's commitment to Israel and its people to ''support them and in particular to give Israel what it needs to defend itself.''

''One of our highest priorities, of course, is the safety and well-being of American citizens and that will continue to be among our highest priority,'' she said. ''And it's also critically important that as we have been, we will stay in constant communication and contact with our allies, with our Israeli partners with members of Congress, as we have been doing in these last few days.''

Harris's flight was delayed from its original arrival time of 11 a.m. Her plane touched down shortly after 1:30 p.m.

She is now expected to speak at the College of Charleston at approximately 3:10 p.m. The event is being live-streamed by the White House.

During the event at the College of Charleston's Sottile Theatre, HarriS addressed several topics, including reproductive freedom, gun safety and voting rights as well as pressing matters like climate action, LGBTQ+ equality, and concerns surrounding book bans.

On the topic of Gun Violence, Harris said this college-aged generation is unique in that gun violence in classrooms is something they've grown up with. Nearly everyone in the crowd raised their hands when she asked who had participated in active shooter drills in school.

''It is a false choice that the obstructionists try to push to say you're either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone's guns away, I am in favor of the Second Amendment, and I believe we need an assault weapons ban,'' Harris said.

Harris also touched on reproductive rights when a College of Charleston student asked a question on behalf of his friend, who he said is worried about her right to seek reproductive care in South Carolina. The student asked Harris what she's doing to secure South Carolinians' reproductive care in the future.

Harris said it's important to realize the right to reproductive care affects everyone regardless of their gender. She said this generation needs to act quickly to elect people into Congress who agree that the government ''shouldn't tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.''

''A woman knows what's in her best interest rather than having a bunch of these folks up in these State Capitals trying to tell her what to do, when in fact you look closely at some of these laws and it becomes clear that of these state legislators don't even know how a woman's body works,'' Harris said.

The VP visit comes at the same time as the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in South Carolina's redistricting case. The district lines for the state's First Congressional District, SC-01, are under fire as the high court is taking up a case from the Palmetto state where some groups are arguing the state district lines need to be redrawn.

In January, three federal judges decided SC-01, which includes parts of Charleston, Colleton, Berkeley, Beaufort and Jasper Counties, is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The panel concluded that Republican state lawmakers drew SC-01 in a way that discriminates against and excludes more than 30,000 Black voters. This was one of the hot-button topics the VP took up today.

''I can't talk about the case, just as a point of reference, but let me just say this: let's understand that it is wrong that any elected official would try to choose who can vote for them when it should be the voter who chooses who represents them,'' Harris said.

Hearings for the case started Wednesday, the same day as the VP's visit.

Republican Party responds to Harris' visitAhead of Harris's visit, Live 5 News reached out to Republican politicians throughout the Lowcountry about their thoughts on her stop in Charleston.

Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and a spokesperson for the South Carolina Republican Party provided statements.

Spokesman for Nikki Haley, Ken Farnaso, provided the following statement:

As beautiful as Charleston is, it's nowhere near the southern border where Kamala Harris should be. She had one job as border czar'--fix the border crisis Joe Biden created, and she has failed miserably.

The topics addressed during Harris' visit included some controversial topics in America right now, such as book bans and gun safety laws.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said the following:

The big problem with Kamala Harris is that she's not taken seriously by the American people because she's not a serious person. Otherwise, she wouldn't be coming here to talk about climate change and gun control while Americans are suffering with inflation and higher interest rates and are desperate to get our borders secured '' especially given the chance that terrorists could use our open borders to commit atrocities here in America like they have done in Israel.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

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'They cut heads off people': IDF major general describes aftermath of Hamas attack

Hamas attack on Israel 15 videos

'They cut heads off people': IDF major general describes aftermath of Hamas attack

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- Source: CNN Kfar Aza, Israel CNN '--

Bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas attackers lay outside burned-out homes in the Israeli kibbutz Kfar Aza on Tuesday, days after the Palestinian militant group launched a large-scale surprise assault on Israel.

Hamas sent waves of heavily armed fighters pouring across the border from Gaza and rampaging through rural communities '' Israel said it found 1,500 bodies of militants in the aftermath of the assault.

Houses in Kfar Aza were ransacked and set ablaze. Overturned mattresses, destroyed furniture, broken trinkets and unexploded grenades lay strewn across the grounds, along with bodies '' a window into the scale of devastation wrought by Hamas in this area.

''I've never seen anything like this in my career, never in 40 years of service this something I never imagined,'' Maj. Gen. Itai Veruv told CNN on Tuesday, just a few hours after Israeli troops secured the kibbutz from Hamas assailants.

In Kfar Aza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was going house to house, collecting the dead in body bags and loading them onto a truck. The IDF told CNN that women, children, toddlers and elderly were ''brutally butchered in an ISIS way of action.''

Hamas has denied that its militants beheaded children or attacked women. The militant group's spokesman and senior official Izzat al-Risheq on Wednesday described the accusation as ''fabricated and baseless allegations.''

Kfar Aza is one of the several kibbutzim, small farming enclaves, that bore the brunt of Hamas' ground assault on Saturday. A number of kibbutzim and towns were targeted, including Kfar Aza, Be'eri, Ofakim, Sderot, Yad Mordechai, Yated, Kissufim and Urim. Revelers at a music festival held in the desert outside of Be'eri were also gunned down and taken hostage.

At least 1,200 people have died in Israel since the conflict erupted, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in an update on Wednesday.

Israel has retaliated by pounding Gaza with a relentless aerial campaign that has flattened homes, schools, medical institutions and government buildings in the besieged strip.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 1,055, with a further 5,184 people injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

See the devastation in Gaza after Israeli strikes

The kibbutzim go back to the time of the founding of Israel, when small groups of people set up communities based on the idea of communal living. About 125,000 people live across approximately 250 kibbutzim in Israel, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel. For many, they were symbols of good life and safety.

What happened at the weekend destroyed that idyll.

Babies and toddlers were found ''decapitated'' in Kfar Aza, Tal Heinrich, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Wednesday. CNN could not independently verify that report, and Hamas said media reports about attacking children were false.

This comes after the IDF told CNN Tuesday that the killings at Kfar Aza amounted to a ''massacre.''

Maj. Gen. Veruv said his soldiers spent ''about 48 hours'' fighting ''waves and waves of terrorists'' on roads and in neighboring communities. He said he had started fighting militants in the Yakhini moshav (community) on Saturday, moving then ''from battle to battle,'' on the road to Sderot, before reaaching the Be'eri kibbutz on Monday evening.

''I saw hundreds of terrorists in full armor, full gear, with all the equipment and all the ability to make a massacre, go from apartment to apartment, from room to room and kill babies, mothers, fathers in their bedrooms,'' Veruv said.

Veruv said he had been retired from the IDF for eight years before rushing to join the counter-offensive efforts on Saturday morning, but nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

''I have heard during my childhood about the pogroms in Europe, the Holocaust, of course. All my family came from Europe, they are survivors. But I never thought I would see'...things like that,'' he said about the scene in Kfar Aza.

More than 100 bodies were found in Be'eri on Monday. Civilians were killed and taken hostage in the kibbutz, which is home to about 1,000 residents, according to Israeli authorities and videos obtained and authenticated by CNN.

Heavily armed militants arrived in Be'eri on motorbikes around 7 a.m., just half an hour after they breached the typically high-tech, tightly guarded border fence between Gaza and Israel, videos show.

A bloodbath followed.

Footage shows militants pulling three bodies out of a car, before stealing the vehicle and driving north. The video, which first surfaced on Telegram, was taken by a surveillance camera in Be'eri. CNN has geolocated the video to an intersection in the northeastern part of the kibbutz.

Another video shows armed militants taking five Israeli civilians captive, with the bodies of four later seen lying on the ground nearby in another video verified by CNN.

Terrified residents told Israel's Channel 12 television station that assailants went door to door, trying to break into their homes.

Of at least 107 bodies discovered in the aftermath, most were of local residents of the kibbutz, though some were of Israeli security forces, a search and rescue spokesperson told CNN.

The IDF acknowledged on Monday that Be'eri was ''very badly hit.''

''We thought we would need more rooms (to house the evacuees). We didn't need all the rooms,'' said IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht.

The attack on Be'eri came around the same time as Hamas militants descended upon a music festival, known as Nova, just three miles south, shooting revelers at point-blank range and looting their belongings.

More than 260 bodies were later found at the festival site, with many attendees believed to have been captured and brought to Gaza, sparking a desperate search by family members and foreign governments.

In Urim, a kibbutz 10 miles south of Be'eri, residents awoke at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday to the sound of sirens and rushed to above-ground bomb shelters. The routine reaction to incoming rocket fire soon became more concerning, as the sirens continued sounding throughout the morning and they went in and out of hiding.

Members of the community, which is not far from where militants rampaged the Nova music festival, began to see reports of Hamas attacks on kibbutzim and towns near the border.

Wayne Lucas, a Virginia native who serves as a ''lone soldier'' in the IDF and lives in Urim, said that he spoke to several friends ''who were hiding in their houses from the terrorists,'' and, as the day progressed, he heard of attacks closer to home.

''We learned that someone from our kibbutz who I know very well, whose family also hosts lone soldiers was shot at the junction outside our kibbutz near the gas station. Luckily, he was only shot in the hand,'' he told CNN.

There are over 7,000 lone soldiers currently serving in the IDF, according to the Lone Soldier Center, many new immigrants or volunteers from Jewish communities abroad.

On Sunday, after a restless night, residents in Urim heard gunshots close by.

''Shortly after 1:30 in the afternoon, we heard gunshots coming from inside the kibbutz. We all dropped everything. We ran as fast as we could to the shelters. We locked the doors, and we were barricading ourselves inside. People had knives and random things to use as weapons,'' Lucas said.

All Israeli buildings erected after 1993 are required to have bomb shelters '' reinforced rooms with concrete walls and heavy steel doors. But these safe rooms are designed to withstand a rocket attack, not an armed incursion. The doors are heavy, but they don't have locks '' they are not supposed to be lockable, for safety reasons.

Another soldier who lives in Urim said he heard gunfire but couldn't make it to the shelter in time. ''I heard a round of six bullets being shot right outside my room. I cannot tell you how scared I was. I didn't know what I needed to do first: hide, lock my door, find a weapon, run to the nearest shelter?'' the soldier, who asked not to be named, told CNN. ''There was nowhere good to hide, and I ended up hiding in my closet.''

The soldier and Lucas said that when they were given the all-clear, an Israeli army unit was outside and had apprehended several militants who had tried to storm the kibbutz.

In Nirim, which lies less than a mile from the border with Gaza, residents had spent Friday '' the day before the Hamas attack '' celebrating the anniversary of the kibbutz's founding. Guy, a 33-year-old painter, said he could not believe the horrors that began the next morning.

When he heard the alarm at 6.30 a.m., he did not think much of it. ''Usually, it stops and starts after a few minutes then we get on with life,'' he told a CNN team on the ground. But this time was different: The alarm did not stop, and rumors began to swirl. ''Rumors started in the kibbutz that someone saw a terrorist in a car and heard Arabic,'' he said. ''It didn't seem possible. We didn't think it was happening.''

He had been waiting in the shelter with his wife, Tamar, and her mother. Tamar's sisters had come to the kibbutz for Friday's celebration, along with their husbands and three young children, who had stayed the night in another house in the kibbutz.

Although most houses in the kibbutz have shelters, they are designed to protect civilians from rockets '' not armed intruders. ''It's impossible to lock from the inside. No one imagined there will be terrorists inside the kibbutz,'' Guy said. He spent the next several hours holding the door ''with my hand, with a knife in my pocket.''

''I was reading online: How can I fight with a knife?'' he said. He had grabbed the only weapon he could find in his kitchen: ''I could make a salad but I don't think I could win against a gun.''

As he guarded the door, they heard gunshots and began to smell smoke. ''Their strategy was to burn houses, to start fires so'... people go outside,'' he said. ''Then they wanted to kill them or kidnap them.

''Finally, the military came at 7 p.m., something like that,'' he said. Initially, they refused to open the door: They had been messaging others over WhatsApp all day, and had heard rumors ''that the terrorists were also knocking on the door and saying they were military.''

He said his wife knew many people who had died. ''They just slaughtered everyone. They killed kids, babies, grandmothers.''

Guy said everyone in the kibbutz was asking: ''Where was our military?''

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WASHINGTON '-- President Biden said Wednesday that he has seen ''confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children'' in southern Israel following reports that up to 40 babies were butchered over the weekend near the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip '' but the White House later walked back the commander in chief's claim.

''I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I'd ever '-- anyway,'' Biden, 80, told leaders of Jewish groups at the White House Wednesday.

But neither the president nor US officials have seen images or independently confirmed reports of beheaded children, a White House spokesperson later clarified, according to the Washington Post.

The White House says that Biden based his remark on claims made by a spokesman for Israel's prime minister and media reports coming out of the Jewish state.

The sickening reports emerged Tuesday as the Israeli military offered journalists tours of areas ravaged by Hamas' Saturday morning surprise attack, which left more than 1,200 civilians and Israeli troops dead and about 150 believed abducted '-- with at least 22 Americans dead and 17 others still unaccounted for.

A senior White House national security aide told reporters immediately following the event that he had not seen the images to which Biden was referring.

President Biden said Wednesday that he has seen ''confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children'' in southern Israel. ZUMAPRESS.comA different White House official directed The Post to comments by Tal Heinrich, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told CNN Wednesday that babies and toddlers were found ''decapitated'' in the community of Kfar Aza.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the horrifying report in a video posted to social media Thursday.

Meanwhile, Yossi Landau, an official with Israel's volunteer civilian emergency response organization Zaka, told CBS News he personally saw the bodies of children and babies who were beheaded.

Follow along with The Post's coverage of Israel's war with HamasHamas kills 40 babies and children '-- beheading some of them '-- at Israeli kibbutz: reportShocking new video shows terrorists shooting Israeli revelers point-blankIsraeli woman, 25, hailed a hero for killing terrorists, leading team that saved kibbutz from HamasIsrael-Hamas war live updates''I saw a lot more that cannot be described for now, because it's very hard to describe,'' he said.

Nicole Zedek, a TV reporter for Tel Aviv-based i24NEWS, first reported the child beheading allegations Tuesday and said in a radio interview Wednesday that she's appalled by initial public skepticism.

''I mean, babies' heads cut off. That's what they encountered when they came there. So as horrible as it is and and I wish that I it wasn't true,'' Zedek said.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces separately told The Intercept on Wednesday that ''we cannot confirm it officially, but you can assume it happened and believe the report.'' ZUMAPRESS.com Israeli rescue workers work to remove dead bodies from near a destroyed police station on Wednesday. REUTERSA revolting image circulated online by the IDF on Wednesday depicted an Israeli child's blood-stained mattress with a streak of blood spatter on the wall and a gush of red coating the footboard.

Biden said he wouldn't take any questions from reporters at the event '-- but pre-emptively answered one he said that he expected to be shouted about his efforts to bring home the unknown number of US captives taken to Gaza.

''If I told you, I wouldn't be able to get them home,'' Biden said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted this picture with the caption: ''Hamas is worse than ISIS.'' Benjamin Netanyahu / twitter Worst attack on Israel in 50 years: How we got here2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip over three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.

2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.

2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.

2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.

2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years.

Over 1,200 Israelis are dead, more than 3,000 are wounded and at least 100 were taken hostage, with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli towns.

Hamas terrorists were seen taking female hostages and parading them down the street in horrifying videos.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced ''We are at war'' and vowed Hamas would pay ''a price it has never known.''

Gaza health officials report at least 1,050 Palestinians have been killed more than 5,000 injured.

''Folks, there's a lot we're doing '... I haven't given up hope of bringing these folks home.''

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at the regular White House briefing Wednesday that the number of Americans who ''we believe is held hostage is very small '-- is very small, like less than a handful. But that could change over time.''

Biden has ducked press questions in other venues since Hamas' stunning attack on Israel. He is facing mounting bipartisan calls from Congress to reverse his decision to authorize the release of $6 billion to Iran, which reportedly helped plot the attack.

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Removing Paywall

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Removing Paywall

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White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby chokes up during a CNN interview while discussing the scenes coming out of Israel after Hamas's surprise attack.

NSC's John Kirby chokes up when speaking to @jaketapper about the images coming out of Israel. pic.twitter.com/BkknrKCWPI

'-- Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 9, 2023

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Dermatologist Dr. Karen DeVore And What She Sees In Vaccinated Patients

Dr. Karen DeVore testifies before South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Ad-Hoc Committee on DHEC.

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